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The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
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They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
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He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
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While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
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and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
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And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
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Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.
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There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
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I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.
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And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
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In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice,
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He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.
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Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick.
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On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled.
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But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.
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When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:
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Blessings and Woes
He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon,
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There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die.
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I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
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A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.
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Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
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For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.
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Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”
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A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission.
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And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her.
