like the accounts passed on to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word from the beginning.

During the reign of Herod king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and he had a wife named Elizabeth, who was a descendant of Aaron.

The angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

And who am I that the mother of my Lord should come and visit me?

And blessed is she who believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled."

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.

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.

that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us.

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

He went to be registered with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him, and who was expecting a child.

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased!"

and all who heard it were astonished at what the shepherds said.

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.

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.

And all who heard Jesus were astonished at his understanding and his answers.

So John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, "You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

John answered them, "The person who has two tunics must share with the person who has none, and the person who has food must do likewise."

"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,

Yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

"Ha! Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- the Holy One of God."

As the sun was setting, all those who had any relatives sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus. He placed his hands on every one of them and healed them.

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

and so were James and John, Zebedee's sons, who were Simon's business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."

While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came to him who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed down with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

Now on one of those days, while he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting nearby (who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem), and the power of the Lord was with him to heal.

Then the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to think to themselves, "Who is this man who is uttering blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Jesus answered them, "Those who are well don't need a physician, but those who are sick do.

But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Get up and stand here." So he rose and stood there.

When morning came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles:

Simon (whom he named Peter), and his brother Andrew; and James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,

Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot,

Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

and those who suffered from unclean spirits were cured.

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.

"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.

"But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

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

To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well, and from the person who takes away your coat, do not withhold your tunic either.

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.

And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.

And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may be repaid in full.

He also told them a parable: "Someone who is blind cannot lead another who is blind, can he? Won't they both fall into a pit?

"Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them into practice -- I will show you what he is like:

He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.

But the person who hears and does not put my words into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against that house, it collapsed immediately, and was utterly destroyed!"

A centurion there had a slave who was highly regarded, but who was sick and at the point of death.

So when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave well.

As he approached the town gate, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother (who was a widow), and a large crowd from the town was with her.

Then he came up and touched the bier, and those who carried it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!"

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?'"

At that very time Jesus cured many people of diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits, and granted sight to many who were blind.

Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."

What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? Look, those who wear fancy clothes and live in luxury are in kings' courts!

This is the one about whom it is written, 'Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'

I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he is."

(Now all the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, acknowledged God's justice, because they had been baptized with John's baptism.

Then when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus was dining at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfumed oil.

Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner."

Simon answered, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly."

Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little loves little."

But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?"

and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and disabilities: Mary (called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had gone out,

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

But other seed fell on good soil and grew, and it produced a hundred times as much grain." As he said this, he called out, "The one who has ears to hear had better listen!"

Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

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.

"No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in can see the light.

But he replied to them, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it."

Then he said to them, "Where is your faith?" But they were afraid and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey 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.

So the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus. They found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed.

The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,

Then a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue, came up. Falling at Jesus' feet, he pleaded with him to come to his house,

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

Then Jesus asked, "Who was it who touched me?" When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing against you!"

Herod said, "I had John beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?" So Herod wanted to learn about Jesus.

But when the crowds found out, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and cured those who needed healing.

Once when Jesus was praying by himself, and his disciples were nearby, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"

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

But I tell you most certainly, there are some standing here who will not experience death before they see the kingdom of God."

and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, for the one who is least among you all is the one who is great."

Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

"The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

All things have been given to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal him."

But the expert, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead.

But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him.

Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?"

The expert in religious law said, "The one who showed mercy to him." So Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."

She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he said.

and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And do not lead us into temptation."