But the angel said to him:

Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you will name him John.

There will be joy and delight for you,
and many will rejoice at his birth.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord
and will never drink wine or beer.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit
while still in his mother’s womb.

He will turn many of the sons of Israel
to the Lord their God.

And he will go before Him
in the spirit and power of Elijah,
to turn the hearts of fathers
to their children,
and the disobedient
to the understanding of the righteous,
to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.

Now listen! You will become silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”

Now listen:
You will conceive and give birth to a son,
and you will call His name Jesus.

He will be great
and will be called the Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give Him
the throne of His father David.

He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and His kingdom will have no end.

The angel replied to her:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore, the holy One to be born
will be called the Son of God.

For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Then she exclaimed with a loud cry:

“You are the most blessed of women,
and your child will be blessed!

She who has believed is blessed because what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled!”

because He has looked with favor
on the humble condition of His slave.
Surely, from now on all generations
will call me blessed,

But his mother responded, “No! He will be called John.”

All who heard about him took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the Lord’s hand was with him.

And child, you will be called
a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord
to prepare His ways,

Because of our God’s merciful compassion,
the Dawn from on high will visit us

But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:

This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.”

(just as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord)

Then Simeon blessed them and told His mother Mary: “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed—

and a sword will pierce your own soul—that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be made low;
the crooked will become straight,
the rough ways smooth,

and everyone will see the salvation of God.

Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

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

His winnowing shovel is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with a fire that never goes out.”

The Devil said to Him, “I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want.

If You, then, will worship me, all will be Yours.”

For it is written:

He will give His angels orders concerning you,
to protect you,

and
they will support you with their hands,
so that you will not strike
your foot against a stone.”

Then He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. So all we’ve heard that took place in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown also.’”

and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s partners.

“Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told Simon. “From now on you will be catching people!”

But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them—then they will fast in those days.”

He also told them a parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. Otherwise, not only will he tear the new, but also the piece from the new garment will not match the old.

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, it will spill, and the skins will be ruined.

You who are now hungry are blessed,
because you will be filled.
You who now weep are blessed,
because you will laugh.

Woe to you who are now full,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who are now laughing,
for you will mourn and weep.

But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the log in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck in your brother’s eye.

I will show you what someone is like who comes to Me, hears My words, and acts on them:

That is why I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be cured.

This is the one it is written about:

Look, I am sending My messenger
ahead of You;
he will prepare Your way before You.

Since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?”

Therefore take care how you listen. For whoever has, more will be given to him; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

When Jesus heard it, He answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be made well.”

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it.

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and that of the Father and the holy angels.

I tell you the truth: There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and rebellious generation! How long will I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

As they were traveling on the road someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go!”

Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at my house.”

If a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.

I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.

But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.

And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will go down to Hades!

Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will ever harm you.

“You’ve answered correctly,” He told him. “Do this and you will live.”

but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’

I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

“So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish?

Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul.

And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges.

As the crowds were increasing, He began saying: “This generation is an evil generation. It demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.

The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and look—something greater than Solomon is here!

The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s proclamation, and look—something greater than Jonah is here!

If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you.”

Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’

from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.

“Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible.

Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear!

“And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God,

but whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.”

I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there.

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’

Then He said to His disciples: “Therefore I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will wear.

If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will He do for you—you of little faith?

“But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided for you.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Those slaves the master will find alert when he comes will be blessed. I assure you: He will get ready, have them recline at the table, then come and serve them.

The Lord said: “Who then is the faithful and sensible manager his master will put in charge of his household servants to give them their allotted food at the proper time?

That slave whose master finds him working when he comes will be rewarded.

I tell you the truth: He will put him in charge of all his possessions.

that slave’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

And that slave who knew his master’s will and didn’t prepare himself or do it will be severely beaten.

But the one who did not know and did things deserving of blows will be beaten lightly. Much will be required of everyone who has been given much. And even more will be expected of the one who has been entrusted with more.

From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three.

They will be divided, father against son,
son against father,
mother against daughter,
daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law,
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”