And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

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

so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.

The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah.

And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,

And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?

He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined.

No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.

And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

The Parable of the Sower

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,

Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.