Every year His parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival.

Assuming He was in the traveling party, they went a day’s journey. Then they began looking for Him among their relatives and friends.

When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him.

When His parents saw Him, they were astonished, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.”

“Why were you searching for Me?” He asked them. “Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:

A voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
Prepare the way for the Lord;
make His paths straight!

Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing shovel is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and gather the wheat into His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with a fire that never goes out.”

for 40 days to be tempted by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over, He was hungry.

For it is written:

He will give His angels orders concerning you,
to protect you,

After the Devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him for a time.

The Spirit of the Lord is on Me,
because He has anointed Me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent Me
to proclaim freedom to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free the oppressed,

But I say to you, there were certainly many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months while a great famine came over all the land.

Amazement came over them all, and they kept saying to one another, “What is this message? For He commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!”

When it was day, He went out and made His way to a deserted place. But the crowds were searching for Him. They came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving them.

But He said to them, “I must proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.”

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they took,

Then He ordered him to tell no one: “But go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses prescribed for your cleansing as a testimony to them.”

Then Levi hosted a grand banquet for Him at his house. Now there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others who were guests with them.

how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the sacred bread, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat? He even gave some to those who were with him.”

“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! Take note—your reward is great in heaven, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the prophets.

bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

Give to everyone who asks you, and from one who takes your things, don’t ask for them back.

Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them.

But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil.

Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

For each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs aren’t gathered from thornbushes, or grapes picked from a bramble bush.

A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.

When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this,

Jesus went with them, and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell Him, “Lord, don’t trouble Yourself, since I am not worthy to have You come under my roof.

For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

Then fear came over everyone, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited His people.”

and sent them to the Lord, asking, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?”

When the men reached Him, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask You, ‘Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?’”

What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet.

But since the Pharisees and experts in the law had not been baptized by him, they rejected the plan of God for themselves.)

They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to each other:

We played the flute for you,
but you didn’t dance;
we sang a lament,
but you didn’t weep!

For John the Baptist did not come eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’

Turning to the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she, with her tears, has washed My feet and wiped them with her hair.

So He said, “The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that

Looking they may not see,
and hearing they may not understand.

And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, welcome the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and depart in a time of testing.

As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit.

For nothing is concealed that won’t be revealed, and nothing hidden that won’t be made known and come to light.

Therefore take care how you listen. For whoever has, more will be given to him; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

When He got out on land, a demon-possessed man from the town met Him. For a long time he had worn no clothes and did not stay in a house but in the tombs.

For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was guarded, bound by chains and shackles, he would snap the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places.

Then all the people of the Gerasene region asked Him to leave them, because they were gripped by great fear. So getting into the boat, He returned.

“Go back to your home, and tell all that God has done for you.” And off he went, proclaiming throughout the town all that Jesus had done for him.

When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed Him, for they were all expecting Him.

A woman suffering from bleeding for 12 years, who had spent all she had on doctors yet could not be healed by any,

Everyone was crying and mourning for her. But He said, “Stop crying, for she is not dead but asleep.”

“Take nothing for the road,” He told them, “no walking stick, no traveling bag, no bread, no money; and don’t take an extra shirt.

“You give them something to eat,” He told them.

“We have no more than five loaves and two fish,” they said, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.”

(For about 5,000 men were there.)

Then He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about 50 each.”

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it.

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and that of the Father and the holy angels.

As the two men were departing from Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it’s good for us to be here! Let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.

He told them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me welcomes Him who sent Me. For whoever is least among you—this one is great.”

“Don’t stop him,” Jesus told him, “because whoever is not against you is for you.”

When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up, He determined to journey to Jerusalem.

He sent messengers ahead of Him, and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for Him.

When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”

But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they offer, for the worker is worthy of his wages. Don’t be moving from house to house.

‘We are wiping off as a witness against you even the dust of your town that clings to our feet. Know this for certain: The kingdom of God has come near.’

I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes!

But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.

For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see yet didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear yet didn’t hear them.”

The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’

And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves also forgive everyone
in debt to us.
And do not bring us into temptation.”

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish?

Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls.

If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul.

And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges.

“When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest, and not finding rest, it then says, ‘I’ll go back to my house where I came from.’

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

But give from what is within to the poor, and then everything is clean for you.

“But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass justice and love for God. These things you should have done without neglecting the others.

Therefore, you are witnesses that you approve the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their monuments.

so that this generation may be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world—

they were lying in wait for Him to trap Him in something He said.

“And I say to you, My friends, don’t fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more.

But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear!

Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight.

For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.”

Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’

“That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

For life is more than food and the body more than clothing.

If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will He do for you—you of little faith?

Don’t keep striving for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious.

For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

“But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided for you.

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.