But the angel told him, "Stop being afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to name him John.

You will have great joy, and many people will rejoice at his birth,

because he will be great in the Lord's presence. He will never drink wine or any strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.

He will bring many of Israel's descendants back to the Lord their God.

He is the one who will go before the Lord with the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and to prepare the people to be ready for the Lord."

But because you did not believe my announcement, which will be fulfilled at its proper time, you will become silent and unable to speak until the day this happens."

Listen! You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you are to name him 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 ancestor David.

He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end."

The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will surround you. Therefore, the child will be holy and will be called the Son of God.

because he has looked favorably on his humble servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed,

Everyone who heard about it kept thinking what had happened and asked, "What will this child become?" because it was obvious that the hand of the Lord was with him.

And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, because you will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way

And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough."

a light that will reveal salvation to unbelievers and bring glory to your people Israel."

Then Simeon blessed them and told Mary, his mother, "This infant is destined to cause many in Israel to fall and rise. Also, he will be a sign that will be opposed.

Indeed, a sword will pierce your own soul, too, so that the inner thoughts of many people might be revealed."

Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled. The crooked ways will be made straight, and the rough roads will be made smooth.

Everyone will see the salvation that God has provided.'"

The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire."

John replied to all of them, "I'm baptizing you with water, but one is coming who is more powerful than I, and I'm not worthy to untie his sandal straps. It is he who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

He told Jesus, "I will give you all this authority, along with their glory, because it has been given to me, and I give it to anyone I please.

So if you will worship me, all this will be yours."

because it is written, "God will put his angels in charge of you to watch over you carefully.

With their hands they will hold you up, so that you will never hit your foot against a rock.'"

So he told them, "You will probably quote this proverb to me, "Doctor, heal yourself! Do everything here in your hometown that we hear you did in Capernaum.'"

Then Jesus told Simon, "Stop being afraid. From now on you will be catching people." So when they brought the boats to shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.

But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and at that time they will fast."

Then he told them a parable: "No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and sews it on an old garment. If he does, the new cloth will tear, and the piece from the new won't match the old.

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will make the skins burst, the wine will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.

How blessed are you who are hungry now, because you will be satisfied! How blessed are you who are crying now, because you will laugh!

"But how terrible it will be for you who are rich, because you have had your comfort!

How terrible it will be for you who are full now, because you will be hungry! How terrible it will be for you who are laughing now, because you will mourn and cry!

"How terrible it will be for you when everyone says nice things about you, because that's the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets!"

Rather, love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind even to ungrateful and evil people.

Give, and it will be given to you. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your lap, because you'll be evaluated by the same standard with which you evaluate others."

He also told them a parable: "One blind person can't lead another blind person, can he? Both will fall into a ditch, won't they?

A disciple is not better than his teacher. But everyone who is fully-trained will be like his teacher.

I will show you what everyone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.

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

When they couldn't pay it back, he generously canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?"

"No one lights a lamp and hides it under a bowl or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a lamp stand so that those who come in will see the light.

So pay attention to how you listen, because to the one who has something, more will be given. However, from the one who doesn't have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him."

But when Jesus heard this, he told the synagogue leader, "Stop being afraid! Just believe, and she will get well."

He said, "The Son of Man must suffer a great deal and be rejected by the elders, the high priests, and the scribes. Then he must be killed, but on the third day he will be raised."

because whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

What profit will a person have if he gains the whole world, but destroys himself or is lost?

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and the holy angels.

While they were walking along the road, a man told him, "I will follow you wherever you go."

Still another man said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to those at home."

If a peaceful person lives there, your greeting of peace will remain with him. But if that's not the case, your greeting will come back to you.

I tell you, on the last day it will be easier for Sodom than for that town!"

"How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that happened in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

It will be easier for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you!

And you, Capernaum! You won't be lifted up to heaven, will you? You'll go down to Hell!

Look! I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to destroy all the enemy's power, and nothing will ever hurt you.

Jesus told him, "You have answered correctly. "Do this, and you will live.'"

I tell you, even though that man doesn't want to get up and give him anything because he is his friend, he will get up and give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.

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

because everyone who keeps asking will receive, and the person who keeps searching will find, and the person who keeps knocking will have the door opened.

So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who keep asking him!"

If I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own followers drive them out? That is why they will be your judges!

"Whenever an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through dry places looking for a place to rest but doesn't find any. So it says, "I will go back to my home that I left.'

Now as the crowds continued to throng around Jesus, he went on to say, "This people living today are an evil generation. It craves a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah,

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

The queen of the south will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. But look, something greater than Solomon is here!

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. But look, something greater than Jonah is here!"

Now if your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays."

So give what is inside to the poor, and then everything will be clean for you.

"How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, spices, and every kind of herb, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others.

How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You love to have the places of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplaces.

How terrible it will be for you! You are like unmarked graves people walk on them without realizing it."

Jesus said, "How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law, too! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you don't even lift a finger to ease those burdens.

How terrible it will be for you! You build monuments for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them!

That is why the Wisdom of God said, "I will send them prophets and apostles. They will kill some of them and persecute others,'

so those living today will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that was shed since the foundation of the world,

from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who died between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation!

How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn't go in yourselves, and you kept out those who were trying to go in."

Therefore, what you have said in darkness will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in private rooms will be shouted from the housetops."

"But I tell you, the Son of Man will acknowledge before God's angels everyone who acknowledges me before people.

But whoever denies me before people will be denied before God's angels.

Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the person who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit won't be forgiven.

When people bring you before synagogue leaders, rulers, or authorities, don't worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say,

because at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you are to say."

But God told him, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you. Now who will get the things you've accumulated?'

Then Jesus told his disciples, "That's why I'm telling you to stop worrying about your life what you will eat or about your body what you will wear,

Now if that's the way God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and thrown into an oven tomorrow, how much more will he clothe you you who have little faith?

"So stop concerning yourselves about what you will eat or what you will drink, and stop being distressed,

Instead, be concerned about his kingdom, and these things will be provided for you as well.

Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Be like people who are waiting for their master to return from a wedding. As soon as he arrives and knocks, they will open the door for him.

How blessed are those servants whom the master finds watching for him when he comes! I tell all of you with certainty, he himself will put on an apron, make them sit down at the table, and go around and serve them.

How blessed they will be if their master comes in the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them awake!

The Lord said, "Who, then, is the faithful and careful servant manager whom his master will put in charge of giving all his other servants their share of food at the right time?

I tell you with certainty, he will put him in charge of all his property.

the master of that servant will come on a day when he doesn't expect him and at an hour that he doesn't know. Then his master will punish him severely and assign him a place with unfaithful people.

That servant who knew what his master wanted but didn't prepare himself or do what was wanted will receive a severe beating.

But the servant who did things that deserved a beating without knowing it will receive a light beating. Much will be required from everyone to whom much has been given. But even more will be demanded from the one to whom much has been entrusted."

From now on, five people 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 daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."