Both of them were righteous before God, having lived blamelessly according to all of the commandments and regulations of the Lord.

When Zechariah was serving with his division of priests in God's presence,

He will bring many of Israel's descendants back to the Lord their God.

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.

Now in the sixth month of her pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,

Then the angel told her, "Stop being afraid, Mary, because you have found favor with God.

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.

The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will surround you. Therefore, the child will be holy and will be called the Son of God.

Nothing is impossible with respect to any of God's promises."

My spirit exults in God, my Savior,

He filled hungry people with good things and sent rich people away with nothing.

Suddenly, Zechariah could open his mouth, his tongue was set free, and he began to speak and to praise God.

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel! He has taken care of his people and has set them free.

Because of the tender mercy of our God, his light from on high has visited us,

Then the angel told them, "Stop being afraid! Listen! I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.

Suddenly, a multitude of the Heavenly Army appeared with the angel, praising God by saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to people who enjoy his favor!"

Then the shepherds returned to their flock, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

Simeon took the infant in his arms and praised God, saying,

Just then she came forward and began to thank God and to speak about Jesus to everyone who was waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

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

Meanwhile, Jesus kept on growing wiser and more mature, and in favor with God and his fellow man.

and Annas and Caiaphas high priests, a message from God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.

Everyone will see the salvation that God has provided.'"

Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! Don't begin to say to yourselves, "We have father Abraham!' because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones!

The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire."

With many other exhortations John continued to proclaim the good news to the people.

the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

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.'"

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,

because it is written, "God will put his angels in charge of you to watch over you carefully.

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

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has anointed me to tell the good news to the poor. He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set oppressed people free,

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.

"Oh, no! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are the Holy One of God!"

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.

Then Jesus got up to leave the synagogue and went into Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever, so they asked Jesus about her.

He bent over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began serving them.

Even demons came out of many people, screaming, "You are the Son of God!" But Jesus rebuked them and ordered them not to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

But he told them, "I have to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God in other cities, because I was sent to do that also."

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.

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.

The scribes and the Pharisees began to argue among themselves, saying, "Who is this man who is uttering blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Which is easier: to say, "Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, "Get up and walk'?

But so you'll know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"." he told the paralyzed man, "I say to you: Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home!"

So the man immediately stood up in front of them and picked up what he had been lying on. Then he went home, praising God.

Amazement seized all the people, and they began to praise God. They were filled with fear and declared, "We have seen wonderful things today!"

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

No one who has been drinking old wine wants new wine, because he says, "The old wine is good enough!'"

How was it that he went into the house of God, took the Bread of the Presence and ate it, which was not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and then gave some of it to his companions?"

But Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he told the man with the paralyzed hand, "Get up, and stand in the middle of the synagogue." So he got up and stood there.

Then Jesus asked them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?"

Now it was in those days that Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.

Then Jesus looked at his disciples and said, "How blessed are you who are destitute, because the kingdom of God is yours!

"But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you.

If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one as well, and if someone takes your coat, don't keep back your shirt, either.

If you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks do you deserve? Even sinners do that.

If you lend to those from whom you expect to get something back, what thanks do you deserve? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back what they lend.

Rather, love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind even to ungrateful and evil people.

"A good tree doesn't produce rotten fruit, and a rotten tree doesn't produce good fruit,

A good person produces good from the good treasure of his heart, and an evil person produces evil from an evil treasure, because the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart."

Then he went up and touched the bier, and the men who were carrying it stopped. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!"

Fear gripped everyone, and they began to praise God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said, and "God has helped his people."

So he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have observed and heard: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear again, the dead are raised, and the destitute hear the good news.

I tell you, no one has ever been born who is greater than John. Yet even the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

By having been baptized with John's baptism, all the people who listened, including the tax collectors, acknowledged God's justice.

But the Pharisees and the experts in the Law rejected God's plan for themselves by refusing to be baptized by John.

After this, Jesus traveled from one city and village to another, preaching and spreading the good news about God's kingdom. The Twelve were with him,

But others fell on good soil, and when they came up, they produced 100 times as much as was planted." As he said this, he called out, "Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!"

So he said, "You have been given knowledge about the secrets of the kingdom of God. But to others they are given in parables, so that "they might look but not see, and they might listen but not understand.'"

"Now this is what the parable means. The seed is God's word.

But the ones on the good soil are the people who hear the word but also hold on to it with good and honest hearts, producing a crop through endurance."

His mother and his brothers came to him, but they couldn't get near him because of the crowd.

But he answered those people, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear a message from God and heed it."

One day, Jesus and his disciples got into a boat. He told them, "Let's cross to the other side of the lake." So they started out.

So his disciples went to him, woke him up, and kept telling him, "Master! Master! We're going to die!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves. They stopped, and there was calm.

When he saw Jesus, he screamed, fell down in front of him, and cried out in a loud voice, "What do you want from me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you not to torture me!"

Then all the people from the region surrounding the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were terrified. So he got into a boat and started back.

"Go home and tell what God has done for you." So the man left and kept proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

But when Jesus heard this, he told the synagogue leader, "Stop being afraid! Just believe, and she will get well."

But he took her hand and called out, "Young lady, get up!"

So her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then Jesus directed that she be given something to eat.

Then he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

So they left and went from village to village, spreading the good news and healing diseases everywhere.

But the crowds found out about this and followed him. He welcomed them and began to speak to them about the kingdom of God and to heal those who needed healing.

As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away to the neighboring villages and farms so they can rest and get some food, because we are here in a deserted place."

They did this and got all of them seated.

He asked them, "But who do you say I am?" "God's Messiah," Peter replied.

I tell you with certainty, some people who are standing here won't experience death until they see the kingdom of God."

Just as Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter told Jesus, "Master, it's good that we're here! Let's set up three shelters one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." (Peter didn't know what he was saying.)

All the people continued to be amazed at the greatness of God. Indeed, everyone was astonished at all the things Jesus was doing. So he told his disciples,

So he sent messengers on ahead of him. On their way they went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him.

But he told him, "Let the dead bury their own dead. But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Jesus told him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Get going! See, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

heal the sick that are there, and tell them, "The kingdom of God is near you!'

"We're wiping off your town's dust that clings to our feet in protest against you! But realize this: the kingdom of God is near!'