Now they were both upright in the sight of God, walking without reproach in all the Lord's commands and requirements.

When Zechariah saw him, he was agitated, even overwhelmed with fear.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must drink no wine nor strong drink, and so he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his birth.

And he will turn many of Israel's descendants to the Lord their God.

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

Meanwhile the people kept waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the sanctuary.

But when he came out, he could not speak to them, and so they knew that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. Meanwhile he kept on making signs to them, and remained dumb.

So after this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,

to a virgin there engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

So the angel came to her home and said, "Congratulations, you highly favored woman! The Lord be with you!"

Then the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and so your child will be called holy, the Son of God.

Then Mary said, "I am the Lord's slave. May what you say take place with me." Then the angel left her.

and she went to Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped within her. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

He has helped His servant Israel, so as to remember mercy,

So it was time for Elizabeth to bear a child, and she bore a son.

And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and so they were rejoicing with her.

So they began to make signs to his father to find out what he might wish him to be named.

to grant us deliverance from the dreaded hand of our foes, so that we could serve Him

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

So everyone was going to his own town to register.

Then an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, so that they were fearfully frightened.

Then when the angel left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has told us."

So they hurried to the place and found Joseph and Mary; also the baby lying in the manger.

When they saw this, they informed them of the story that had been told about this child.

Now there was in Jerusalem a man named Symeon, an upright, devout man; he was expecting to see the consolation of Israel, and he was under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not die without seeing the Lord's Messiah.

So under the Spirit's guidance he went into the temple, and when the parents brought the child Jesus there to do for Him as the custom of the law required,

Then Symeon gave them his blessing, and said to Mary, the child's mother, "This child is destined to bring the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign continuously disputed --

yea, a sword will pierce your heart -- so that the secret purposes of many hearts will be revealed."

They supposed that He was somewhere in the caravan, and so they traveled a whole day before they began to make an anxious search for Him among His relatives and acquaintances.

When His parents saw Him, they were utterly amazed, and yet His mother said to Him, "My child, why did you treat us so? Just see how your father and I, in agony of mind, have been searching for you!"

Then He said to them, "Why is it that you were searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

So He went back to Nazareth with them and continued to obey them. But His mother continued to treasure up all these sayings in her heart.

And all mankind must see the salvation of God.'"

So he used to say to the crowds that continued to come out there to be baptized by him: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to escape from the wrath that is coming?

Produce, then, fruit that is consistent with the repentance that you profess, and do not even begin to say within yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our forefather,' for I tell you, God can raise up descendants for Abraham even out of these stones.

So the crowds were asking him this question, "What then ought we to do?"

So he said to them, "Stop collecting any more than is prescribed for you."

Then some soldiers too were asking him, "What ought we too to do?" So he said to them, "Never extort money from anyone, never make a false accusation, and always be satisfied with your wages."

So with many and varied exhortations John continued to proclaim the good news to the people.

But Herod the governor, because he was repeatedly reproved by him for Herodias his brother's wife, and for all the wicked deeds that Herod had done,

Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and for forty days He was led about in the desert under the Spirit's guidance,

while He was being tempted by the devil. During that time He ate nothing, and so at the end of it He felt hungry.

Then the devil said to Him, "If you are God's Son, order this stone to turn to a loaf of bread."

So if you will worship before me just once, it shall all be yours."

Then he took Him to Jerusalem, and had Him stand on the tip-top turret of the temple, and said to Him, "If you are God's Son, throw yourself down from here,

and, 'They will bear you up on their hands, so that you will never strike your foot against a stone.'"

So He came to Nazareth where He had been brought up, and as His habit was on the Sabbath, He went to the synagogue and stood up to read.

So they all began to speak well of Him and to wonder at the gracious words that fell from His lips, and yet they continued to say, "Is He not Joseph's son?"

He added, "I solemnly say to you, no prophet is welcome in his native neighborhood.

But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the heaven was closed for three years and a half, and there was a great famine over all the land,

And there were many lepers in Israel in Elisha's time, and yet not one of them was cured except Naaman the Syrian."

So He came down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee. And He continued to teach them on the Sabbath,

"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."

But Jesus reproved him, saying "Be quiet! Get out of him at once!" So the demon threw the man down in the midst of them and came out of him without doing him any harm.

Amazement then seized them all and they continued to talk it over among themselves, and to say, "What does this message mean? For with authority and power He gives orders to foul spirits, and they come out."

And so news of Him continued to spread to every place in the surrounding region.

Then He rose to leave the synagogue, and He went to Simon's house. And Simon's mother-in-law was in the grip of a burning fever; so they asked Him about her.

So He continued to preach in the synagogues of Judea.

Then He saw two boats lying up on the shore of the lake, but the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.

So He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to push out a little from the shore. Then He sat down and continued to teach the crowds from the boat.

Simon answered, "We have toiled all night and caught nothing, but since you tell me to do so, I will set the nets again."

They did so and caught so vast a shoal of fish that their nets began to break.

So they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' feet and said, "Leave me, Lord, because I am a sinful man."

as well as James and John, Zebedee's sons, who were Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Stop being afraid; from now on you will be catching men."

So after they had brought the boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

Now while He was in one of the towns, a man covered with leprosy saw Jesus and fell on his face and begged Him, saying, "Lord, if you choose to, you can cure me."

So He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, "I do choose to; be cured." And at once the leprosy left him.

When He saw their faith, He said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

Jesus saw that they were arguing, and answered them: "Why are you arguing so in your hearts?

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

Then an overwhelming wonder seized them all and they began to give praise to God. They were filled with awe and continued to say, "We have seen unthinkable wonders today!"

After this He went out and saw a tax-collector named Levi in his seat at the tax-collector's desk, and He said to him, "Follow me."

So he left everything behind, got up and followed Him.

After that they said to Him, "John's disciples rigidly practice fasting and offering up prayers; so do the Pharisees, but your disciples keep right on eating and drinking."

So no one puts fresh wine into old wine bottles; or, if he does, the fresh wine will burst the bottles, the wine will run out, and the bottles will be ruined.

And the scribes and the Pharisees were closely watching Him to see whether He would cure him on the Sabbath, in order to get a charge against Him.

But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and stand at the front." So he got up and stood there.

Then He glanced around at them all and said to him, "Put out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was at once completely restored.

So all the people were trying to touch Him, because power continued to go forth from Him and to cure them all.

But I say to you who listen now to me, practice loving your enemies, practice doing good to those who hate you,

But you must practice loving your enemies, doing good to them, and lending to them, despairing of nothing; so that your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Why do you continue to look at the tiny speck in your brother's eye, but pay no attention to the heavy girder in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me get that tiny speck out of your eye,' when you cannot see the girder in your own eye? You hypocrite! First get the girder out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly how to get out the tiny speck in your brother's eye.

The good man, out of his good inner storehouse, brings forth what is good, the bad man, out of his bad one, what is bad. For a man's mouth usually speaks the things that fill his heart.

"So why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' but do not practice what I tell you?

So they went to Jesus and continued to urge Him earnestly, saying, "He deserves that you do this for him,

Then Jesus started to go with them. But when He was not far from the house, the captain sent friends to say to Him, "My Lord, stop troubling yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.

And so I did not deem myself worthy even to come to you. But simply speak the word, and let my servant-boy be cured.

When Jesus heard this, He was astounded at him, and turning to the crowd that was following Him He said, "I tell you, I have not found, in a single case among the Jews, so great faith as this!"

As He approached the gate of the town, look, there was being carried out a dead man, his mother's only son, and she was a widow! A considerable crowd of townspeople were with her.

Now when the Lord saw her, His heart was moved with pity for her, and so He said to her, "Stop weeping."

So awe seized them all, and they began to praise God, saying, "A great prophet has appeared among us!" and, "God has visited His people!"

Now John's disciples told him about all these things.

So John called two of them to him and sent them to the Lord, to ask, "Are you the One who was to come, or should we continue to look for someone else?"

So 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 continue to look for someone else?'"

And so He answered them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind are seeing and the crippled are walking, the lepers are being healed and the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised and the poor are having the good news preached to them.

But when John's messengers had gone, He began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the desert to gaze at? A reed that is tossed to and fro by the wind?