Now<n id="1" /> during the blessing<n id="2" /> he departed<n id="3" /> and was taken up into heaven.<n id="4" />

How can you say to your brother, &#8216;Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,&#8217; while you yourself don&#8217;t see the beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother&#8217;s eye.p>

The expert<n id="1" /> answered, &#8220;<b><i>Lovei>b><n id="2" /> <b><i>the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mindi>b>,<n id="3" /> and <b><i>love your neighbor as yourselfi>b>.&#8221;<n id="4" />

But they did not have a child, because Elizabeth was barren,<n id="1" /> and they were both very old.<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">In the sixth month of Elizabeth&#8217;s pregnancy,<n id="1" /> the angel Gabriel<n id="2" /> was sent by<n id="3" /> God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,<n id="4" />

<p class="bodytext">&#8220;And look,<n id="1" /> your relative<n id="2" /> Elizabeth has also become pregnant with<n id="3" /> a son in her old age &#8211; although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month!<n id="4" />

She<n id="1" /> exclaimed with a loud voice,<n id="2" /> &#8220;Blessed are you among women,<n id="3" /> and blessed is the child<n id="4" /> in your womb!

<p class="bodytext">On<n id="1" /> the eighth day<n id="2" /> they came to circumcise the child, and they wanted to name<n id="3" /> him Zechariah after his father.

All<n id="1" /> their neighbors were filled with fear, and throughout the entire hill country of Judea all these things were talked about.

<p class="bodytext">And the child kept growing<n id="1" /> and becoming strong<n id="2" /> in spirit, and he was in the wilderness<n id="3" /> until the day he was revealed<n id="4" /> to Israel.p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now<n id="1" /> there were shepherds<n id="2" /> nearby<n id="3" /> living out in the field, keeping guard<n id="4" /> over their flock at night.

So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger.<n id="1" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old,<n id="1" /> having been married to her husband for seven years until his death.

But<n id="1" /> he replied,<n id="2" /> &#8220;Why were you looking for me?<n id="3" /> Didn&#8217;t you know that I must be in my Father&#8217;s house?&#8221;<n id="4" />

<p class="bodytext">While the people were filled with anticipation<n id="1" /> and they all wondered<n id="2" /> whether perhaps John<n id="3" /> could be the Christ,<n id="4" />

where for forty days he endured temptations<n id="1" /> from the devil. He<n id="2" /> ate nothing<n id="3" /> during those days, and when they were completed,<n id="4" /> he was famished.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Then<n id="1" /> Jesus, in the power of the Spirit,<n id="2" /> returned to Galilee, and news about him spread<n id="3" /> throughout the surrounding countryside.<n id="4" />

<p class="otpoetry">&#8220;<b><i>The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,i>b>p> <p class="otpoetry"><b><i>because he has anointedi>b><n id="1" /> <b><i>me to proclaim good newsi>b><n id="2" /> <i><b>to the poorb>.i><n id="3" />p> <p class="otpoetry"><b><i>He has sent mei>b><n id="4" /> <b><i>to proclaim releasei>b><n id="5" /> <b><i>to the captivesi>b>p> <p class="otpoetry"><b><i>and the regaining of sighti>b><n id="6" /> <b><i>to the blind,i>b>p> <p class="otpoetry"><b><i>to set freei>b><n id="7" /> <b><i>those who are oppressed,i>b><n id="8" />p>

<p class="bodytext">Then<n id="1" /> he rolled up<n id="2" /> the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on<n id="3" /> him.

And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha,<n id="1" /> yet<n id="2" /> none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.&#8221;<n id="3" />