Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead.

And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

But he said to them, "Do not be terrified. It is Jesus you are looking for--the Nazarene who has been crucified. He has come back to life: He is not here: this is the place where they laid Him.

So, they left, running out of the cave, [and] trembling with amazement. And they said nothing to anyone about this for they were afraid.

After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them as they were walking along the way to the country.

Afterwards he appeared at table to the eleven themselves and reproached them for their unbelief and dulness of mind, because they had not believed those who saw him risen from the dead. [But they excused themselves, saying, "This age of lawlessness and unbelief lies under the sway of Satan, who will not allow what lies under the unclean spirits to understand the truth and power of God; therefore," they said to Christ, "reveal your righteousness now." Christ answered them, "The term of years for Satan's power has now expired, but other terrors are at hand. I was delivered to death on behalf of sinners, that they might return to the truth and sin no more, that they might inherit that glory of righteousness which is spiritual and imperishable in heaven."]

And these [miraculous] signs will attend [the conversion of] those who believe. [Note: This refers to the supernatural miracles performed by the apostles and their associates during the apostolic age. See verse

to perform his customary duties as a priest before God, he drew the responsibility [that day] of entering the Temple of the Lord to burn the incense offering. [Note: This was done on a golden Altar in the Temple by a priest twice a day].

And seeing this, Zacharias was troubled, and fear fell on him.

This will bring gladness and delight to you, and many will rejoice over his birth.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and he will not drink any wine or intoxicating drinks [Note: This restriction suggests that John may have taken the special vow of consecration making him a "Nazarite"]. And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the time he is born.

And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

The angel replied and said to him, “I am Gabriel; I stand and minister in the [very] presence of God, and I have been sent [by Him] to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

And now you will be dumb and unable to speak until the day when this has taken place; because you did not believe my words--words which will be fulfilled at their appointed time."

Now after this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she secluded herself completely, saying,

“The Lord has done this for me. He has looked with favor in these days to take away my disgrace among the people.”

And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

And consider this, you will become pregnant and give birth to a son and you will name Him Jesus.

This one will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for this reason your holy offspring will be called 'the Son of God.'

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

So Mary said, "Yes, I am a servant of the Lord; let this happen to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

Not long after this, Mary rose up and went in haste into the hill country to a town in Judah.

and Elizabeth divinely inspired, broke out into this acclamation.

And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

How blessed is this woman for believing that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled!"

Because He has not turned from His maidservant in her lowly position; For from this time forward all generations will account me happy,

And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

All their neighbors were awe-struck at this; and throughout the hill-country of Judea the whole story was much talked about;

And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Just as He promised by the mouth of His holy prophets from the most ancient times—

He has done this to show mercy to our ancestors, and to remember his holy covenant --

the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham. This oath grants

Just at this time an edict was issued by Caesar Augustus for the registration of the whole Empire.

(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

but the angel said to them, "Have no fear. This is good news I am bringing you, news of a great joy that is meant for all the People.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

Then when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were completed [Note: This was a set procedure required for a Jewish mother on the birth of a child. See Lev. 12:1-8], Joseph and Mary brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

“Now, Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to leave [this world] in peace,
According to Your word;

And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

and this woman was a widow to eighty-four years), who did not depart from the temple, serving with fastings and supplications night and day.

And she came up at this very time, and gave thanks to God, and spoke of him to all that were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Now Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem every year to attend the Passover Festival. [Note: This was the annual Jewish festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership].

and as they were returning [to Nazareth], after spending the required number of days [at the Feast], the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. Now His parents did not know this,

When they saw Him, they were overwhelmed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us like this? Listen, Your father and I have been [greatly distressed and] anxiously looking for You.”

Now it was the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was ruler of Galilee, his brother Philip was ruler of the regions of Ituraea and Trachonitus [Note: These two men were sons of Herod the Great (See Matt. 2:1) and ruled over provinces east of the Jordan River] and Lysanias was ruler of Abilene [Note: This was a province just north of the two previously mentioned ones].

[During this time], while Annas and Caiaphas [Note: This man was Annas' son-in-law. See John 18:13] were head priests, God's message came to John [the Immerser], son of Zacharias, [when he was] in the desert [of Judea].

This was according to what is written in the book containing the words of Isaiah, the prophet [Isa. 40:3ff], "The voice of a man who speaks out in the desert [urging people] to make the road for the Lord ready [for Him to travel]; to make a straight pathway for Him [to walk on].

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

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

And in this way, with many other exhortations, John proclaimed good news to the people.

But Herod the tetrarch being reproved by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and concerning all the evils which Herod had done, Added also this above all,

Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

And Jesus at this time was about thirty years old, being the son (as it seemed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,

And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

So if you will worship before me, all [this] will be yours."

And he brought him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him: If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from this place;

"The Spirit of the Lord is on Me; because of this He has anointed Me to proclaim the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and new sight to the blind, to set at liberty those having been crushed,

And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?

And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.

When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged.

But Jesus rebuked the demon. "Silence!" He exclaimed; "come out of him." Upon this, the demon hurled the man into the midst of them, and came out of him without doing him any harm.

And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

But he said to them, I must needs announce the glad tidings of the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for for this I have been sent forth.

And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

And so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were working with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Have no fear; from this time forward you will be a fisher of men.

And it happened while Jesus was in one of the towns [i.e., surrounding Lake Galilee], that a man covered with an infectious skin disease appeared and, when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face [to the ground] and begged Him, saying, "If you want to, you can heal me." [Note: Throughout this narrative the terms "heal/healing" are originally "clean/cleansing" because the Jews viewed a person with such a disease as ceremonially "unclean." See Lev. 13:1-3].

But because they could not find a [suitable] way to get him in [to the house] because of the people crowded [around], they went up to the housetop [Note: This was a flat area, where people retired for rest, prayer, etc., with a stairway accessible from the outside] and lowered the man on his cot through the roof tiles into the presence of Jesus.

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

But perceiving their thoughts, Jesus replied to them, “Why are you thinking this in your hearts?

"What is this caviling in your hearts? Which is easier to say, "Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Rise and walk?"

And rapture seized them all, and they continued to glorify God; and they were filled with fear, saying, that, We have seen the paradoxical this day.

After this Jesus went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi (Matthew) sitting at the tax booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me [as My disciple, accepting Me as your Master and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk].”

This led the Pharisees and Scribes of their party to expostulate with His disciples and ask, "Why are you eating and drinking with these tax-gatherers and notorious sinners?"

But a time for this will come, when the Bridegroom has been taken away from them: then, at that time, they will fast."

He used this figure also in speaking to them: "No one tears a piece from a new coat and sews it on an old one, or if he does, he will both tear the new one and the piece from the new one will not match the old one.

Now it happened on a Sabbath day that Jesus was walking through some grainfields. His disciples picked off some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands and ate [the kernels]. [Note: It was an accepted practice for people in that day to be permitted to do this as they walked along paths bordering a grainfield].

And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;

how he entered the house of God [i.e., the Temple] and took some 'Bread of Presence' and ate it, and also gave some to his men to eat? [This practice] was not permissible according to the law of Moses, [since the bread was reserved] only for the priests."

Then He looked around at all of them [there] and said to the man, "Reach out your hand." And [when] he did this, his hand was restored [to normal use].

This filled them with fury, and they discussed what they could do to Jesus.

Now it was during this time that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God.

rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in the heaven, for after this manner did their fathers act toward the prophets.

Woe, when all men speak well of you, for after this manner did their fathers to the false prophets.

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

After Jesus had finished teaching all this to the people, he entered Capernaum.

And a certain captain had a servant who was very dear to him; this servant was ill and near to death.

this centurion having heard of Jesus's fame, sent several elders of the Jews to intreat him to come, and recover his servant.

And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:

It is right for you to do this for him, because he is a friend to our nation, and himself has put up a Synagogue for us.

So Jesus went with them. Now by this time he was not far away from the house, [and] the centurion sent friends, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof.

For this reason neither did I consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word and my slave must be healed.