Do you remember the prophecy about someone to come in the spirit and power of the prophet Elijah; someone who will turn the hearts of the parents back to their children; someone who will turn the hearts of the disobedient to the mind-set of the just and good? Your son is the one who will fulfill this prophecy: he will be the Lord’s forerunner, the one who will prepare the people and make them ready for God.

Mary (deciding in her heart): Here I am, the Lord’s humble servant. As you have said, let it be done to me. And the heavenly messenger was gone.

God’s arm has accomplished mighty deeds. The proud in mind and heart, God has sent away in disarray.

Mary, too, pondered all of these events, treasuring each memory in her heart.

In the end, He will lay bare the secret thoughts of many hearts. And a sword will pierce even your own soul, Mary.

Jesus went back to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. His mother continued to store these memories like treasures in her heart.

Jesus (responding with His own question): Why are your hearts full of questions?

It’s the same with people. A person full of goodness in his heart produces good things; a person with an evil reservoir in his heart pours out evil things. The heart overflows in the words a person speaks; your words reveal what’s within your heart.

But the Pharisees and religious scholars hardened their hearts and turned their backs on God’s purposes for them because they had refused John’s baptism.

here’s the interpretation: The voice of God falls on human hearts like seeds scattered across a field.

Some people hear that message, but the devil opposes the liberation that would come to them by believing. So he swoops in and steals the message from their hard hearts like birds stealing the seeds from the footpath.

Others receive the message enthusiastically, but their vitality is short-lived because the message cannot be deeply rooted in their shallow hearts. In the heat of temptation, their faith withers, like the seeds that sprouted in gravelly soil.

A third group hears the message, but as time passes, the daily anxieties, the pursuit of wealth, and life’s addicting delights outpace the growth of the message in their hearts. Even if the message blossoms and fruit begins to form, the fruit never fully matures because the thorns choke out the plants’ vitality.

But some people hear the message and let it take root deeply in receptive hearts made fertile by honesty and goodness. With patient dependability, they bear good fruit.

Jesus saw what was going on—not just the argument, but the deeper heart issues—so He found a child and had the child stand beside Him.

Scholar: You shall love—“love the Eternal One your God with everything you have: all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind”—and “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Your treasure will be stored in the heavens, and since your treasure is there, your heart will be lodged there as well.

Jesus (to the Pharisees): You’ve made your choice. Your ambition is to look good in front of other people, not God. But God sees through to your hearts. He values things differently from you. The goals you and your peers are reaching for God detests.

So each of you needs to be careful. If your brother sins [against you], confront him about it, and if he has a change of mind and heart, then forgive him.

Chief Priests, Religious Scholars, and Elders: Teacher, we respect You because You speak and teach only what is right, You show no partiality to anyone, and You truly teach the way of God.

So be careful. Guard your hearts. They can be made heavy with moral laxity, with drunkenness, with the hassles of daily life. Then the day I’ve been telling you about might catch you unaware and trap you.

Jesus: Come on, men! Why are you being so foolish? Why are your hearts so sluggish when it comes to believing what the prophets have been saying all along?

Two Disciples (to each other): Amazing! Weren’t our hearts on fire within us while He was talking to us on the road? Didn’t you feel it all coming clear as He explained the meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures?

Jesus: Why are you upset? Why are your hearts churning with questions?