Again he came back and found them asleep, because they could not keep their eyes open. They didn't even know what they should say to him.

Just then, while Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. A crowd armed with swords and clubs was with him. They were from the high priests, the scribes, and the elders.

Now the betrayer personally had given them a signal, saying, "The one I kiss is the man. Arrest him, and lead him safely away."

So Judas immediately went up to Jesus and said, "Rabbi," and kissed him tenderly.

Then the men took hold of Jesus and arrested him.

A certain young man, who was wearing nothing but a linen sheet, was following Jesus. When the men grabbed him,

Meanwhile, the high priests and the whole Council were looking for some testimony against Jesus in order to have him put to death, but they couldn't find any.

Although many people gave false testimony against him, their testimony didn't agree.

Then some men stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying,

"We ourselves heard him say, "I will destroy this sanctuary made by human hands, and in three days I will build another one not made by human hands.'"

But he kept silent and didn't answer at all. The high priest asked him again, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?"

"You have heard his blasphemy! What is your verdict?" All of them condemned him as deserving death.

Some of them began to spit on him. They blindfolded him and kept hitting him with their fists and telling him, "Prophesy!" Even the servants took him and slapped him around.

When she saw Peter warming himself, she glared at him and said, "You, too, were with Jesus from Nazareth."

The servant girl saw him and again told those who were standing around, "This man is one of them!"

Just then a rooster crowed a second time. Peter remembered that Jesus told him, "Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times." Then he broke down and cried.

As soon as it was morning, the high priests convened a meeting with the elders and scribes and the whole Council. They bound Jesus with chains, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.

Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus answered him, "You say so."

The high priests kept accusing him of many things.

So Pilate asked him again, "Don't you have any answer? Look how many accusations they're bringing against you!"

because he knew that the high priests had handed him over due to jealousy.

But the high priests stirred up the crowd to get him to release Barabbas for them instead.

"Crucify him!" they shouted back.

"Why?" Pilate asked them. "What has he done wrong?" But they shouted even louder, "Crucify him!"

They dressed him in a purple robe, twisted some thorns into a victor's crown, and placed it on his head.

They began to greet him, "Long live the king of the Jews!"

They kept hitting him on the head with a stick, spitting on him, kneeling in front of him, and worshiping him.

When they had finished making fun of him, they stripped him of the purple robe, put his own clothes back on him, and led him away to crucify him.

They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he wouldn't accept it.

Then they crucified him. They divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice to see what each one would get.

It was nine in the morning when they crucified him.

The written notice of the charge against him read, "The king of the Jews."

They crucified two bandits with him, one on his right and the other on his left.

Those who passed by kept insulting him, shaking their heads, and saying, "Ha! You who were going to destroy the sanctuary and rebuild it in three days

In the same way, the high priests, along with the scribes, were also making fun of him among themselves. They kept saying, "He saved others, but can't save himself!

Let the Messiah, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, since seeing is believing!" Even the men who were crucified with him kept insulting him.

So someone ran and soaked a sponge in some sour wine. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus a drink, saying, "Wait! Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down!"

They used to accompany him and care for him while he was in Galilee. Many other women who had come up to Jerusalem with him were there, too.

Pilate was amazed to hear that Jesus had already died, so he summoned the centurion to ask him if he was in fact dead.

But he told them, "Stop being astonished! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He is not here. Look at the place where they laid him.

But go and tell his disciples especially Peter that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you."

Finally he appeared to his eleven disciples while they were eating. He rebuked them for their unbelief and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who had seen him after he had risen.

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

When Zechariah saw him, he was startled, and fear overwhelmed him.

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.

The angel answered him, "I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. I have been sent to speak to you and to announce this good news to you.

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.

His mercy lasts from generation to generation for those who fear him.

On the eighth day they went to circumcise the child. They were going to name him Zechariah after his father,

So they motioned to the baby's father to see what he wanted to name him.

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.

He granted us deliverance from our enemies' grip so that we could serve him without fear

and be holy and righteous before him all of our days.

He went there to be registered with Mary, who had been promised to him in marriage and was pregnant.

and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no place for them in the guest quarters.

After eight days had passed, the infant was circumcised and named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

When the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,

Now a man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. This man was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the one who would comfort Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah.

Led by the Spirit, he went into the Temple. When the parents brought the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the Law,

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

Meanwhile, the child continued to grow and to become strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God's favor rested upon him.

They thought that he was in their group of travelers. After traveling for a day, they started looking for him among their relatives and friends.

When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching desperately for him.

Three days later, they found him in the Temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and posing questions to them.

All who heard him were amazed at his intelligence and his answers.

When Jesus' parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother asked him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been worried sick looking for you!"

John would say to the crowds that were coming out to be baptized by him, "You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

The crowds kept asking him, "What, then, should we do?"

Even some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?"

Even some soldiers were asking him, "And what should we do?" He told them, "Never extort money from anyone by threats or blackmail, and be satisfied with your pay."

and the Holy Spirit descended on him, appearing in the form of a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you!"

The Devil told him, "Since you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread."

Jesus answered him, "It is written, "One must not live on bread alone, but on every word of God.'"

The Devil also took him to a high place and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant.

But Jesus answered him, "It is written, "You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

The Devil also took him into Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the Temple. He told Jesus, "Since you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,

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

After the Devil had finished tempting Jesus in every possible way, he left him until another time.

Then Jesus returned to Galilee by the power of the Spirit. Meanwhile, the news about him spread throughout the surrounding country.

the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,

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?"

They got up, forced Jesus out of the city, and led him to the edge of the hill on which their city was built, intending to throw him off.

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 news about him spread to every place in the surrounding region.

When the sun was setting, everyone who had any friends suffering from various diseases brought them to him. He placed his hands on each of them and began healing them.

At daybreak he left and went to a deserted place, while the crowds kept looking for him. When they came to him, they tried to keep him from leaving them.

One day, as the crowd was pressing in on him to listen to God's word, Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret.

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.

because Simon and all the people who were with him were amazed at the number of fish they had caught,

One day, while Jesus was in one of the cities, a man covered with leprosy saw Jesus and fell on his face, begging him, "Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean."

So Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying, "I do want to. Be clean!" Instantly the leprosy left him.

Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as proof to the authorities."

But the news about Jesus spread even more, and many crowds began gathering to hear him and to be healed of their diseases.

Some men were bringing a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to take him into the house and place him in front of Jesus.

When they couldn't find a way to get him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on his stretcher through the tiles into the middle of the room, right in front of Jesus.

After that, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax collector's desk. He told him, "Follow me!"

So Levi left everything behind, got up, and followed him.