The Birth of Jesus

¹Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.

²This was the first census to take place whileQuirinius was governor of Syria.

³And everyone went to his own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house and line of David.

⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to him in marriage and was expecting a child.

⁶While they were there, the time came for her Child to be born.

⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night.

⁹Just then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:

¹¹Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!

¹²And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying:

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to menon whom His favor rests!”

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby, who was lying in the manger.

¹⁷After they had seen the Child, they spread the message they had received about Him.

¹⁸And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, which was just as the angel had told them.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

²¹When the eight days before His circumcision had passed, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He was conceived.

²²And when the time of purification according to the Law of Moses was complete, His parents brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to the Lord”),

²⁴and to offer the sacrifice specified in the Law of the Lord: “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

The Prophecy of Simeon

²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

²⁶The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

²⁷Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for Him what was customary under the Law,

²⁸Simeon took Him in his arms and blessed God, saying:

²⁹“Sovereign Lord, as You have promised,You now dismiss Your servant in peace.

³⁰For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

³¹which You have prepared in the sight of all people,

³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles,and for glory to Your people Israel.”

³³The Child’s father and mother were amazed at what was spoken about Him.

³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary:“Behold, this Child is appointed to causethe rise and fall of many in Israel,and to be a sign that will be spoken against,

³⁵so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your soul as well.”

The Prophecy of Anna

³⁶There was also a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was well along in years. She had been married for seven years,

³⁷and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four.She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.

³⁸Coming forward at that moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the Child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

The Return to Nazareth

³⁹When Jesus’ parents had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

⁴⁰And the Child grew and became strong.He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.

The Boy Jesus at the Temple

⁴¹Every year His parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.

⁴²And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the Feast.

⁴³When those days were over and they were returning home, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware He had stayed.

⁴⁴Assuming He was in their company, they traveled on for a day before they began to look for Him among their relatives and friends.

⁴⁵When they could not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him.

⁴⁶Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

⁴⁷And all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.

⁴⁸When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. “Child, why have You done this to us?” His mother asked. “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.”

⁴⁹“Why were you looking for Me?” He asked. “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

⁵⁰But they did not understand the statement He was making to them.

⁵¹Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

The Ministry of the Twelve

¹Then Jesus called the Twelvetogether and gave them power and authority over all demons, and power to cure diseases.

²And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

³“Take nothing for the journey,” He told them, “no staff, no bag, no bread, no money,no second tunic.

⁴Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that area.

⁵If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”

⁶So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

Herod Tries to See Jesus

⁷When Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, he was perplexed. For some were saying that John had risen from the dead,

⁸others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that a prophet of old had arisen.

⁹“I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this man I hear such things about?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

¹⁰Then the apostles returned and reported to Jesus all that they had done. Taking them away privately, He withdrew to a town called Bethsaida.

¹¹But the crowds found out and followed Him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and He healed those who needed healing.

¹²As the day neared its end, the Twelve came to Jesus and said, “Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside for lodging and provisions. For we are in a desolate place here.”

¹³But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.”“We have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.”

¹⁴(There were about five thousand men.)He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

¹⁵They did so, and everyone was seated.

¹⁶Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples to set before the people.

¹⁷They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Peter’s Confession of Christ

¹⁸One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that a prophet of old has arisen.”

²⁰“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Christ’s Passion Foretold

²¹Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.

²²“The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Take Up Your Cross

²³Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

²⁵What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?

²⁶If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

²⁷But I tell you truly, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

²⁸About eight days after Jesus had said these things, He took with Him Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray.

²⁹And as He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became radiantly white.

³⁰Suddenly two men, Moses and Elijah, began talking with Jesus.

³¹They appeared in glory and spoke about His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

³²Meanwhile Peter and his companions were overcome by sleep, but when they awoke, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with Him.

³³As Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

³⁴While Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

³⁵And a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen.Listen to Him!”

³⁶After the voice had spoken, only Jesus was present with them. The disciples kept this to themselves, and in those days they did not tell anyone what they had seen.

The Boy with an Evil Spirit

³⁷The next day, when they came down from the mountain, Jesus was met by a large crowd.

³⁸Suddenly a man in the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only child.

³⁹A spirit keeps seizing him, and he screams abruptly. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It keeps mauling him and rarely departs from him.

⁴⁰I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.”

⁴¹“O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴²Even while the boy was approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

The Second Prediction of the Passion

⁴³And they were all astonished at the greatness of God.While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples,

⁴⁴“Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”

⁴⁵But they did not understand this statement. It was veiled from them so that they could not comprehend it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.

The Greatest in the Kingdom

⁴⁶Then an argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.

⁴⁷But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, had a little child stand beside Him.

⁴⁸And He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you, he is the greatest.”

⁴⁹“Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”

⁵⁰“Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

The Samaritans Reject Jesus

⁵¹As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

⁵²He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.

⁵³But the people there refused to welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem.

⁵⁴When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heavento consume them?”

⁵⁵But Jesus turned and rebuked them.

⁵⁶And He and His disciples went on to another village.

The Cost of Discipleship

⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow You wherever You go.”

⁵⁸Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

⁵⁹Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.”The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹Still another said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first let me bid farewell to my family.”

⁶²Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

¹A few days later Jesus went back to Capernaum. And when the people heard that He was home,

²they gathered in such large numbers that there was no more room, not even outside the door, as Jesus spoke the word to them.

³Then a paralytic was brought to Him, carried by four men.

⁴Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat.

⁵When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking in their hearts,

⁷“Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸At once Jesus knew in His spirit that they were thinking this way within themselves. “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?” He asked.

⁹“Which is easier: to say to a paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’?

¹⁰But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” He said to the paralytic,

¹¹“I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”

¹²And immediately the man got up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of them all. As a result, they were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Jesus Calls Levi

¹³Once again Jesus went out beside the sea. All the people came to Him, and He taught them there.

¹⁴As He was walking along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Levi got up and followed Him.

¹⁵While Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples—for there were many who followed Him.

¹⁶When the scribes who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with these people, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eatwith tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷On hearing this, Jesus told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Questions about Fasting

¹⁸Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were often fasting. So people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t Your disciples fast like John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees?”

¹⁹Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? As long as He is with them, they cannot fast.

²⁰But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

The Patches and the Wineskins

²¹No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, and a worse tear will result.

²²And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.”

The Lord of the Sabbath

²³One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain as they walked along.

²⁴So the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

²⁵Jesus replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?

²⁶During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread,which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.”

²⁷Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

²⁸Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Taste and See That the LORD Is Good

¹I will bless the LORD at all times;His praise will always be on my lips.

²My soul boasts in the LORD;let the oppressed hear and rejoice.

³Magnify the LORD with me;let us exalt His name together.

⁴I sought the LORD, and He answered me;He delivered me from all my fears.

⁵Those who look to Him are radiant with joy;their faces shall never be ashamed.

⁶This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him;He saved him from all his troubles.

⁷The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,and he delivers them.

⁸Taste and see that the LORD is good;blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

⁹Fear the LORD, you His saints,for those who fear Him lack nothing.

¹⁰Young lions go lacking and hungry,but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

¹¹Come, children, listen to me;I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

¹²Who is the man who delights in life,who desires to see good days?

¹³Keep your tongue from eviland your lips from deceitful speech.

¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good;seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,and His ears are inclined to their cry.

¹⁶But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,to wipe out all memory of them from the earth.

¹⁷The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears;He delivers them from all their troubles.

¹⁸The LORD is near to the brokenhearted;He saves the contrite in spirit.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous,but the LORD delivers him from them all.

²⁰He protects all his bones;not one of them will be broken.

²¹Evil will slay the wicked,and the haters of the righteous will be condemned.

²²The LORD redeems His servants,and none who take refuge in Him will be condemned.