One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him, saying, “Aren’t ¹  you the Christ? ²  Save yourself and us!”

and said to them, “Thus it stands written that the Christ ¹  would suffer ²  and would rise from the dead on the third day,

And look, I am sending you ¹  what my Father promised. ²  But stay in the city ³  until you have been clothed with power ⁴  from on high.”

When ¹  the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem ²  and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord ³  has made known to us.”

Then some soldiers ¹  also asked him, “And as for us – what should we do?” ²  He told them, “Take money from no one by violence ³  or by false accusation, ⁴  and be content with your pay.”

John answered them all, ¹  “I baptize you with water, ²  but one more powerful than I am is coming – I am not worthy ³  to untie the strap ⁴  of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ⁵ 

Jesus ¹  said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ ²  and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, ³  do here in your hometown too.’”

But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, ¹  when the sky ²  was shut up three and a half years, and ³  there was a great famine over all the land.

He got into ¹  one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then ²  Jesus ³  sat down ⁴  and taught the crowds from the boat.

Then ¹  Jesus said to them, “I ask you, ²  is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed ¹  at him. He turned and said to the crowd that followed him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith!” ² 

When ¹  the men came to Jesus, ²  they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ³  ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’” ⁴ 

They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, ¹  ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance; ²  we wailed in mourning, ³  yet you did not weep.’

As ¹  she stood ²  behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She ³  wiped them with her hair, ⁴  kissed ⁵  them, ⁶  and anointed ⁷  them with the perfumed oil.

As for the seed that ¹  fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but ²  as they go on their way they are choked ³  by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, ⁴  and their fruit does not mature. ⁵ 

Then ¹  he said to them, “Where is your faith?” ²  But they were afraid and amazed, ³  saying to one another, “Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, ⁴  and they obey him!”

The expert ¹  answered, “Love ²  the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, ³  and love your neighbor as yourself.” ⁴ 

He ¹  went up to him ²  and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil ³  and wine on them. Then ⁴  he put him on ⁵  his own animal, ⁶  brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

I tell you, even though the man inside ¹  will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of the first man’s ²  sheer persistence ³  he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

But Jesus ¹  replied, ²  “Woe to you experts in religious law as well! ³  You load people ⁴  down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch ⁵  the burdens with even one of your fingers!