An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the incense altar.

After this, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and remained in seclusion for five months. She said,

The angel came to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!"

Then Mary said, "Truly I am the Lord's servant. Let everything you have said happen to me." Then the angel left her.

Later on, Mary set out for a Judean city in the hill country.

Then Mary said, "My soul praises the greatness of the Lord!

but his mother said, "Absolutely not! He must be named John."

Suddenly, Zechariah could open his mouth, his tongue was set free, and he began to speak and to praise God.

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel! He has taken care of his people and has set them free.

to shine on those who sit in darkness and in death's shadow, and to guide our feet into the way of peace."

Jesus' father and mother kept wondering at the things being said about him.

Jesus answered him, "It has been said, "You must not tempt the Lord your God.'"

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has anointed me to tell the good news to the poor. He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set oppressed people free,

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. While the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him,

All the people began to speak well of him and to wonder at the gracious words that flowed from his mouth. They said, "This is Joseph's son, isn't it?"

But Jesus rebuked him. "Be quiet," he said, "and come out of him!" At this, the demon threw the man down in the middle of the synagogue and came out of him without hurting him.

So Jesus got into one of the boats (the one that belonged to Simon) and asked him to push out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and began to teach the crowds from the boat.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus' knees and said, "Leave me, Lord! I am a sinful man!" -

When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Mister, your sins are forgiven."

Then Jesus looked at his disciples and said, "How blessed are you who are destitute, because the kingdom of God is yours!

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found this kind of faith!"

Then he went up and touched the bier, and the men who were carrying it stopped. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!"

The man who had been dead sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Fear gripped everyone, and they began to praise God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said, and "God has helped his people."

When the men had come to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, "Are you the Coming One, or should we wait for someone else?'"

At that time Jesus had healed many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind.

They're like little children who sit in the marketplace and shout to each other, "A wedding song we played for you, the dance you all did scorn. A woeful dirge we chanted, too, but then you would not mourn.'

Now while a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from every city, he said in a parable:

"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, were trampled on, and birds from the sky ate them up.

But others fell on good soil, and when they came up, they produced 100 times as much as was planted." As he said this, he called out, "Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!"

So he said, "You have been given knowledge about the secrets of the kingdom of God. But to others they are given in parables, so that "they might look but not see, and they might listen but not understand.'"

"Now this is what the parable means. The seed is God's word.

One day, Jesus and his disciples got into a boat. He told them, "Let's cross to the other side of the lake." So they started out.

Jesus asked, "Who touched me?" While everyone was denying it, Peter and those who were with him said, "Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing in on you."

Still Jesus said, "Somebody touched me, because I know that power has gone out of me."

Now everyone was crying and wailing for her. But Jesus said, "Stop crying! She's not dead. She's sleeping."

When you visit a home and stay there, and go out from there,

Now Herod the tetrarch heard about everything that was happening. He was puzzled because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead,

Herod said, "I beheaded John. But who is this man I'm hearing so much about?" So Herod kept trying to see Jesus.

As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away to the neighboring villages and farms so they can rest and get some food, because we are here in a deserted place."

Now there were about 5,000 men. So he told his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about 50."

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."

Now about eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John, and James with him and went up on a mountain to pray.

Just as Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter told Jesus, "Master, it's good that we're here! Let's set up three shelters one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." (Peter didn't know what he was saying.)

Then a voice came out of the cloud and said, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen. Keep listening to him!"

John said, "Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him, because he wasn't a follower like us."

He told another man, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

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

Stay with the same family, eating and drinking whatever they provide, because the worker deserves his pay. Don't move from house to house.

At that moment, the Holy Spirit made Jesus extremely joyful, so Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from wise and intelligent people and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this is what was pleasing to you.

By chance, a priest was traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he went by on the other side.

Similarly, a descendant of Levi came to that place. When he saw the man, he also went by on the other side.

He said, "The one who showed mercy to him." Jesus told him, "Go and do what he did."

She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord's feet and kept listening to what he was saying.

But some of them said, "He drives out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons."

But he said, "Instead, how blessed are those who hear God's word and obey it!"

After Jesus had said this, a Pharisee invited him to have a meal with him. So Jesus went and took his place at the table.

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.

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

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."

Then he told them a parable. He said, "The land of a certain rich man produced good crops.

Then he said, "This is what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and I'll store all my grain and goods in them.

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.

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've come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already ablaze!

When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, "Woman, you are free from your illness."

Shouldn't this woman, a descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the Sabbath day?"

It is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches."

Again he said, "To what can I compare the kingdom of God?

"When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don't sit down at the place of honor in case someone more important than you was invited by the host.

But when you are invited, go and sit down at the place of least honor. Then, when your host comes, he will tell you, "Friend, move up higher,' and you will be honored in the presence of everyone who eats with you.

Another said, "I bought five pairs of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'

Still another said, "I recently got married, so I can't come.'

The servant said, "Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.'

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. He will first sit down and estimate the cost to see whether he has enough money to finish it, won't he?

"Or suppose a king is going to war against another king. He will first sit down and consider whether with 10,000 men he can fight the one coming against him with 20,000 men, won't he?

Then Jesus said, "A man had two sons.

"Then he came to his senses and said, "How many of my father's hired men have more food than they can eat, and here I am starving to death!

The man replied, "A hundred jars of olive oil.' The manager told him, "Get your bill. Sit down quickly and write "50."'

"One day, the beggar died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.

In the afterlife, where he was in constant torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus by his side.

"But Abraham said, "My child, remember that during your lifetime you received blessings, while Lazarus received hardships. But now he is being comforted here, while you suffer.

Besides all this, a wide chasm has been fixed between us, so that those who want to cross from this side to you cannot do so, nor can they cross from your side to us.'

"The rich man said, "Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house

"Abraham said, "They have Moses and the Prophets. They should listen to them!'

The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you!

He said, "In a city there was a judge who didn't fear God or respect people.

"But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even look up to heaven. Instead, he continued to beat his chest and said, "O God, be merciful to me, the sinner that I am!'

Jesus, however, called for the children and said, "Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom of God belongs to people like these.

But when the official heard this he became sad, because he was very rich.

So when Jesus saw how sad he was, he said, "How hard it is for rich people to get into the kingdom of God!

Then Peter said, "See, we have left everything we have and followed you."

But they didn't understand any of this. What he said was hidden from them, and they didn't know what he meant.

"What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, I want to see again!"

When Jesus came to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down! I must stay at your house today."

So he said, "A prince went to a distant country to be appointed king and then to return.

The first servant came and said, "Sir, your coin has earned ten more coins.'

"The second servant came and said, "Your coin, sir, has earned five coins.'

"Then the other servant came and said, "Sir, look! Here's your coin. I've kept it in a cloth for safekeeping

After Jesus had said this, he traveled on and went up to Jerusalem.