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

And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news.

But she was greatly troubled at his saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.

And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

But why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.

This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

And this will be a sign to you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us."

Now when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which had been told them concerning this child.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that will be spoken against

added this to them all, that he shut up John in prison.

And the devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."

And he said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.

And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"

He said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here also in your own country what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'"

When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.

And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!"

but he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because I was sent for this purpose."

And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets were breaking.

And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

After this he went out, and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me."

And when they came to Jesus, they begged him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy to have you do this for him,

For I am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

When Jesus heard this, he marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that followed him, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."

And this report about him spread throughout all Judea and all the surrounding country.

This is he of whom it is written: 'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.'

"To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like?

Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner."

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.

You gave me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet from the time I came in.

Then those who reclined at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

But others fell on good soil, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold." When he had said this he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

When his disciples asked him what this parable meant,

"Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and water, and they obey him?"

But Jesus on hearing this answered him, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be well."

And Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?" So he sought to see him.

But he strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one,

While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"

But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great."

And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"

After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.

Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.'

'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.'

Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live."

When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

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

The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, one greater than Jonah is here.

that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,

from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be required of this generation.

And he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have prepared?'

If you then are not able to do this very little thing, why are you anxious about the rest?

But know this, that if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to all?"

You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; but how is it you do not know how to interpret this present time?

And Jesus answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this way?

He told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

So he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?'

And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.

Then ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years, be loosed on the Sabbath day from this bond?"

When he said this, all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

And they could not reply to this.

and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.

When one of those who sat at table with him heard this, he said to him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"

So the servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and the maimed, the blind and the lame.'

saying, 'This man began to build, and was not able to finish.'

And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."

So he told them this parable:

for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.

But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!'

It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.'"

He also said to his disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.

So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'

So the master commended the dishonest steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.

The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they scoffed at him.

And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.'

And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'

So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"

But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her justice, or she will wear me out by her continual coming.'"

Also he told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other menextortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

But when he heard this, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.

who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life."

But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

And hearing a multitude going by, he asked what this meant.

And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.