But the angel said to him, &#8220;Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard,<n id="1" /> and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you<n id="2" /> will name him John.<n id="3" />

<p class="bodytext">Zechariah<n id="1" /> said to the angel, &#8220;How can I be sure of this?<n id="2" /> For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.&#8221;<n id="3" />

The<n id="1" /> angel answered him, &#8220;I am Gabriel, who stands<n id="2" /> in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring<n id="3" /> you this good news.

The angel replied,<n id="1" /> &#8220;The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow<n id="2" /> you. Therefore the child<n id="3" /> to be born<n id="4" /> will be holy;<n id="5" /> he will be called the Son of God.p>

Then<n id="1" /> Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, &#8220;Listen carefully:<n id="2" /> This child<n id="3" /> is destined to be the cause of the falling and rising<n id="4" /> of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be rejected.<n id="5" />

When<n id="1" /> his parents<n id="2" /> saw him, they were overwhelmed. His<n id="3" /> mother said to him, &#8220;Child,<n id="4" /> why have you treated<n id="5" /> us like this? Look, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.&#8221;<n id="6" />

Then some soldiers<n id="1" /> also asked him, &#8220;And as for us &#8211; what should we do?&#8221;<n id="2" /> He told them, &#8220;Take money from no one by violence<n id="3" /> or by false accusation,<n id="4" /> and be content with your pay.&#8221;p>

And he<n id="1" /> said to him, &#8220;To you<n id="2" /> I will grant this whole realm<n id="3" /> &#8211; and the glory that goes along with it,<n id="4" /> for it has been relinquished<n id="5" /> to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish.

<p class="bodytext">Then<n id="1" /> the devil<n id="2" /> brought him to Jerusalem,<n id="3" /> had him stand<n id="4" /> on the highest point of the temple,<n id="5" /> and said to him, &#8220;If<n id="6" /> you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,

Jesus<n id="1" /> said to them, &#8220;No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, &#8216;Physician, heal yourself!&#8217;<n id="2" /> and say, &#8216;What we have heard that you did in Capernaum,<n id="3" /> do here in your hometown too.&#8217;&#8221;

and so were James and John, Zebedee&#8217;s sons, who were Simon&#8217;s business partners.<n id="1" /> Then<n id="2" /> Jesus said to Simon, &#8220;Do not be afraid; from now on<n id="3" /> you will be catching people.&#8221;<n id="4" />

But<n id="1" /> he knew<n id="2" /> their thoughts,<n id="3" /> and said to the man who had the withered hand, &#8220;Get up and stand here.&#8221;<n id="4" /> So<n id="5" /> he rose and stood there.

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed<n id="1" /> at him. He turned and said to the crowd that followed him, &#8220;I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith!&#8221;<n id="2" />

So<n id="1" /> he answered them,<n id="2" /> &#8220;Go tell<n id="3" /> John what you have seen and heard:<n id="4" /> The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the<n id="5" /> deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news proclaimed to them.

Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this,<n id="1" /> he said to himself, &#8220;If this man were a prophet,<n id="2" /> he would know who and what kind of woman<n id="3" /> this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.&#8221;

He<n id="1" /> said, &#8220;You have been given<n id="2" /> the opportunity to know<n id="3" /> the secrets<n id="4" /> of the kingdom of God,<n id="5" /> but for others they are in parables, so that <b><i>although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understandi>b>.<n id="6" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">One<n id="1" /> day Jesus<n id="2" /> got into a boat<n id="3" /> with his disciples and said to them, &#8220;Let&#8217;s go across to the other side of the lake.&#8221; So<n id="4" /> they set out,

Then<n id="1" /> he said to them, &#8220;Where is your faith?&#8221;<n id="2" /> But they were afraid and amazed,<n id="3" /> saying to one another, &#8220;Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water,<n id="4" /> and they obey him!&#8221;p>

When he saw<n id="1" /> Jesus, he cried out, fell<n id="2" /> down before him, and shouted with a loud voice, &#8220;Leave me alone,<n id="3" /> Jesus, Son of the Most High<n id="4" /> God! I beg you, do not torment<n id="5" /> me!&#8221;

Jesus answered,<n id="1" /> &#8220;You<n id="2" /> unbelieving<n id="3" /> and perverse generation! How much longer<n id="4" /> must I be with you and endure<n id="5" /> you?<n id="6" /> Bring your son here.&#8221;