Many writers have undertaken to compose accounts of the movement which has developed among us,

just as the original eye-witnesses who became teachers of the message have handed it down to us.

Once when he was acting as priest before God, when his division was on duty,

Zechariah said to the angel, "How am I to know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in life."

"This is what the Lord has done for me," she said, "now that he has deigned to remove the disgrace I have endured."

And your relative, Elizabeth, although she is old, is going to give birth to a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was said to be barren.

For nothing is ever impossible for God."

And Mary said, "I am the Lord's slave. Let it be as you say." Then the angel left her.

and she gave a great cry, and said, "You are the most favored of women, And blessed is your child!

Blessed is she who has believed, For what the Lord has promised her will be fulfilled!"

"For the Almighty has done wonders for me, How holy his name is!

As he promised our forefathers To have mercy on Abraham and his descendants forever!"

But his mother said, "No! He is to be named John."

They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who bears that name."

He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John."

And they were all amazed. Then his voice and the use of his tongue were immediately restored, and he blessed God aloud.

and everyone who heard them kept them in mind, and said, "What is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.

And he has produced a mighty Savior for us In the house of his servant David.

"By the lips of his holy prophets he promised of old to do this??71 To save us from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us,

"Because the heart of our God is merciful, And so the day will dawn upon us from on high,

The angel said to them, "Do not be frightened, for I bring you good news of a great joy that is to be felt by all the people,

for today, in the town of David, a Savior for you has been born who is your Messiah and Lord.

When the angels left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Come! Let us go over to Bethlehem, and see this thing that has happened, that the Lord has told us of!"

When he was eight days old and it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, as the angel had named him, before his birth was first expected.

"Now, Master, you will let your slave go free In peace, as you promised,

And he gave them his blessing, and said to Mary, the child's mother, "This child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a portent that will be much debated??35 you yourself will be pierced to the heart??nd so the thoughts of many minds will be revealed."

And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual to the festival and made their customary stay.

As they could not find him, they went back to Jerusalem in search of him.

When his parents saw him they were amazed, and his mother said to him. "My child, why did you treat us like this? Here your father and I have been looking for you, and have been very anxious."

As Jesus grew older he gained in wisdom and won the approval of God and men.

as the book of the sermons of the prophet Isaiah says, "Hark! Someone is shouting in the desert, Get the Lord's way ready! Make his paths straight.

Every hollow must be filled up, And every mountain and hill leveled. What is crooked is to be made straight, And the rough roads are to be made smooth,

And all mankind is to see how God can save!"

So he would say to the crowds that came out there to be baptized by him, "You brood of snakes! Who warned you to fly from the wrath that is coming?

But the axe is already lying at the roots of the trees. Any tree that fails to produce good fruit is going to be cut down and thrown into the fire."

As all this aroused people's expectations, and they were all wondering in their hearts whether John was the Christ,

John said to them all, "I am only baptizing you in water, but someone is coming who is stronger than I am, whose shoes I am not fit to untie. He will baptize you in the holy Spirit and in fire.

Jesus answered, "The Scripture says, 'Not on bread alone is man to live!' "

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath he went to the synagogue, as he was accustomed to do, and stood up to read the Scriptures.

And the roll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, and he unrolled it and found the place where it says,

"The spirit of the Lord is upon me, For he has consecrated me to preach the good news to the poor, He has sent me to announce to the prisoners their release and to the blind the recovery of their sight, To set the down-trodden at liberty,

And they all spoke well of him and were astonished at the winning words that fell from his lips, and they said, "Is he not Joseph's son?"

I tell you," said he, "no prophet is welcome in his own country.

"Ha! What do you want of us, Jesus, you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are! You are God's Holy One!"

And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is the meaning of this teaching? For he gives orders authoritatively and effectually to the foul spirits, and they come out."

As the sun went down all who had friends sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and cured them.

But he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, for that is what I was sent to do."

Once as the crowd was pressing about him to hear God's message, he happened to be standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,

Simon answered, "Master, we worked all night and caught nothing, but as you tell me to do it, I will put down the nets."

Then he warned him to tell nobody, "But go," he said, "show yourself to the priest, and in proof of your cure make the offerings for your purification, just as Moses prescribed."

One day as he was teaching, there were some Pharisees and experts in the Law sitting near by, who had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was there, so that he might cure people.

And as they could find no way to get him in, on account of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his mat through the tiles, among the people in front of Jesus.

And the scribes and the Pharisees began to debate and say, "Who is this man who talks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?

Jesus answered them, "It is not well people but the sick who have to have the doctor.

Jesus said to them, "Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?

But other days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, in those days they will fast."

No one after drinking old wine wants new, for he says, 'The old is better!' "

And some of the Pharisees said, "Why do you do what it is against the Law to do on the Sabbath?"

And he said to them, "The Son of Man is master of the Sabbath."

On another Sabbath he happened to go to the synagogue and teach. There was a man there whose right hand was withered.

Jesus said to them, "I want to ask you, Is it allowable on the Sabbath to do people good or to do them harm? to save life or to destroy it?"

Then he fixed his eyes on his disciples, and said, "Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours!

"Blessed are you when people hate you and exclude you and denounce you and spurn the name you bear as evil, on account of the Son of Man.

Be glad when that happens, and leap for joy, for you will be richly rewarded in heaven, for that is the way their forefathers treated the prophets.

"Alas for you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is the way their forefathers treated the false prophets!

Give to everyone that asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

And treat men just as you wish them to treat you.

If you love only those who love you, what merit is there in that? For even godless people love those who love them.

And if you help only those who help you, what merit is there in that? Even godless people act in that way.

And if you lend only to people from whom you expect to get something, what merit is there in that? Even godless people lend to godless people, meaning to get it back again in full.

But love your enemies, and help them and lend to them, never despairing, and you will be richly rewarded, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind even to the ungrateful and the wicked.

You must be merciful, just as your Father is.

Give, and they will give to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, they will pour into your lap. For the measure you use with others they in turn will use with you."

A pupil is not better than his teacher, but every pupil when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.

Why do you keep looking at the speck in your brother's eye, and pay no attention to the beam that is in your own?

Every tree is known by its fruit. They do not pick figs off thorns, or gather grapes from brambles.

A good man, out of the good he has accumulated in his heart, produces good, and a bad man, out of what he has accumulated that is bad, produces what is bad. For his mouth says only what his heart is full of.

If anyone comes to me and listens to this teaching of mine and acts upon it, I will show you whom he is like.

He is like a man who was building a house, who dug deep and laid his foundation upon the rock, and when there was a flood the torrent burst upon that house and could not shake it, because it was well built.

But the man who listens to it, and does not act upon it, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation. The torrent burst upon it, and it collapsed at once, and the wreck of that house was complete."

for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue."

That is why I did not think I was fit to come to you. But simply say the word, and have my servant cured.

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished at him, and turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such faith as this even in Israel!"

As he came up to the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out; he was his mother's only son, and she was a widow. A crowd of the townspeople was with her.

And they were all overcome with awe, and they praised God, and said, "A great prophet has appeared among us!" and "God has not forgotten his people!"

And the men went to him and said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we look for someone else?' "

And he answered them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard. The blind are regaining their sight, the lame can walk, the lepers are being cured and the deaf can hear, the dead are being raised and good news is being preached to the poor.

And blessed is the man who finds nothing that repels him in me."

This is the man of whom the Scripture says, " 'Here I send my messenger on before you, He will prepare the road ahead of you!'

"I tell you, among men born of women there is none greater than John; and yet those who are of little importance in the Kingdom of God are greater than he.

So what is there to which I can compare the men of this age? What are they like?

So wisdom is vindicated by all who are really wise."

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were really a prophet, he would know who and what the woman is who is touching him, for she leads a wicked life."

Jesus answered him, and said to him, "Simon, there is something I want to say to you." He said, "Proceed, Master."

As they could not pay him, he canceled what they owed him. Now which of them will be more attached to him?"

Therefore, I tell you, her sins, many as they are, are forgiven, for she has loved me so much. But the man with little to be forgiven loves me but little."

The men at table with him began to say to themselves, "Who is this man, who even forgives sins?"

But he said to the woman, "It is your faith that has saved you. Go in peace."

"A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some of the seed fell by the path and was trodden on, and the wild birds ate it up.