Month: December 2019

Introduction

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us,

2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of theword,

3 it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to writeitout for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus;

4 so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division ofAbijah; and he had a wifefrom the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.

8 Now it happenedthatwhile he was performing his priestly service before God in theappointedorder of his division,

9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.

11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

12 Zacharias was troubled when he sawthe angel,and fear gripped him.

13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.

14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.

16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

17 It is he who will goas a forerunnerbefore Him in the spirit and power of Elijah,to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

18 Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know thisfor certain?For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.”

19 The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

20 And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”

21 The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.

22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he kept making signs to them, and remained mute.

23 When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.

24 After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,

25 “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He lookedwith favoruponme,to take away my disgrace among men.”

Jesus’ Birth Foretold

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,

27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lordiswith you.”

29 But she was very perplexed atthisstatement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.

30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.

37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

38 And Mary said, “Behold, thebondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah,

40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessedareyou among women, and blessedisthe fruit of your womb!

43 And how has ithappenedto me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?

44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

45 And blessedisshe who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

The Magnificat

46 And Mary said:

“My soul exalts the Lord,

47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

48 For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;

For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.

49 For the Mighty One has done great things for me;

And holy is His name.

50 AndHis mercy is upon generation after generation

Toward those who fearHim.

51 He has done mighty deeds with His arm;

He has scatteredthose who wereproud in the thoughts of their heart.

52 He has brought down rulers fromtheirthrones,

And has exalted those who were humble.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things;

And sent away the rich empty-handed.

54 He has given help to Israel His servant,

In remembrance of His mercy,

55 As He spoke to our fathers,

To Abraham and his descendants forever.”

56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, andthenreturned to her home.

John Is Born

57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.

58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

59 And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father.

60 But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John.”

61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.”

62 And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.

63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “His name is John.” And they were all astonished.

64 And at once his mouth was opened and his tongueloosed,and hebeganto speak in praise of God.

65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all the hill country of Judea.

66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this childturn out tobe?” For the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

Zacharias’s Prophecy

67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

68 “Blessedbethe Lord God of Israel,

For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,

69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us

In the house of David His servant—

70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old—

71 Salvationfrom our enemies,

Andfrom the hand of all who hate us;

72 To show mercy toward our fathers,

And to remember His holy covenant,

73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,

74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,

Might serve Him without fear,

75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.

76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;

For you will go onbefore theLord to prepareHis ways;

77 To give to His peopletheknowledge of salvation

By the forgiveness of their sins,

78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,

With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,

79 To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,

To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

80 And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/LUK/1-34f2b55669df845963a3f396fc027355.mp3?version_id=100—

Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem

1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of allthe inhabited earth.

2 This was the first census taken whileQuirinius was governor of Syria.

3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 In the same region there weresomeshepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who isChrist the Lord.

12 Thiswill bea sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among menwith whom He is pleased.”

15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherdsbegansaying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.

17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

21 And when eight days had passed, before His circumcision, His name wasthencalled Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

22 And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Everyfirstbornmale that opens the womb shall be called holy to theLord”),

24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “Apair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,

28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,

According to Your word;

30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

32 A Light of revelation to theGentiles,

And the glory of Your people Israel.”

33 And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.

34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, thisChildis appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—

35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

36 And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived withherhusband seven years after her marriage,

37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.

38 At that very moment she came up andbegangiving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

Return to Nazareth

39 When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.

40 The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Visit to Jerusalem

41 Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.

42 And when He became twelve, they went upthereaccording to the custom of the Feast;

43 and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it,

44 but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and theybeganlooking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

45 When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him.

46 Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

47 And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

48 When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.”

49 And He said to them,“Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’shouse?”

50 But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.

51 And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured allthesethings in her heart.

52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/LUK/2-acbbae75f43a463c96ae21a81561dbdb.mp3?version_id=100—

John the Baptist Preaches

1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,

2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.

3 And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;

4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

‘Make ready the way of theLord,

MakeHis paths straight.

5 Every ravine will be filled,

And every mountain and hill will be brought low;

The crooked will become straight,

And the rough roads smooth;

6 And all flesh will see the salvation ofGod.’ ”

7 So hebegansaying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.

9 Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?”

11 And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.”

12 Andsometax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”

13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.”

14 Somesoldiers were questioning him, saying, “Andwhat aboutus, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuseanyonefalsely, and be content with your wages.”

15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ,

16 John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

17 His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

18 So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people.

19 But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done,

20 Herod also added this to them all: he locked John up in prison.

Jesus Is Baptized

21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened,

22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Genealogy of Jesus

23 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,

24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai,

26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,

27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,

28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,

33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah,

36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,

38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/LUK/3-e0a707fb94554bf63e951284d7b78fab.mp3?version_id=100—

The Temptation of Jesus

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness

2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.

3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

4 And Jesus answered him,“It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ ”

5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

7 Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”

8 Jesus answered him,“It is written, ‘You shall worship theLord yourGod and serveHim only.’ ”

9 And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here;

10 for it is written,

‘He will commandHis angels concerningYou to guardYou,’

11 and,

‘Ontheirhands they will bearYou up,

So thatYou will not strikeYour foot against a stone.’ ”

12 And Jesus answered and said to him,“It is said, ‘You shall not put theLord yourGod to the test.’ ”

13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

Jesus’ Public Ministry

14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.

15 And Hebeganteaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

18 “TheSpirit of theLord is uponMe,

BecauseHe anointedMe to preach the gospel to the poor.

He has sentMe to proclaim release to the captives,

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set free those who are oppressed,

19 To proclaim the favorable year of theLord.”

20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

21 And He began to say to them,“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

22 And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

23 And He said to them,“No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’ ”

24 And He said,“Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.

25 But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;

26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath,in the landof Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

28 And allthe peoplein the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things;

29 and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.

30 But passing through their midst, He went His way.

31 And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;

32 and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.

33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

34 “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying,“Be quiet and come out of him!”And when the demon had thrown him down in the midstof the people,he came out of him without doing him any harm.

36 And amazement came upon them all, and theybegantalking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.”

37 And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.

Many Are Healed

38 Then He got up andleftthe synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her.

39 And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them.

40 While the sun was setting, all those who had anywho weresick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.

41 Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.

42 When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.

43 But He said to them,“I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

44 So He kept on preaching in the synagogues ofJudea.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/LUK/4-49113ce288c46508b978b4de885436f7.mp3?version_id=100—

The First Disciples

1 Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret;

2 and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

3 And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down andbeganteaching the people from the boat.

4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon,“Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

5 Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You sayandlet down the nets.”

6 When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their netsbeganto break;

7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.

8 But when Simon Peter sawthat,he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;

10 and so alsowereJames and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon,“Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.”

11 When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

The Leper and the Paralytic

12 While He was in one of the cities, behold,there wasa man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

13 And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying,“I am willing; be cleansed.”And immediately the leprosy left him.

14 And He ordered him to tell no one,“But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

15 But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hearHimand to be healed of their sicknesses.

16 But Jesus Himself wouldoftenslip away to the wilderness and pray.

17 One day He was teaching; and there weresomePharisees and teachers of the law sittingthere,who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea andfromJerusalem; and the power of the Lord waspresentfor Him to perform healing.

18 Andsomemenwerecarrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him.

19 But not finding anywayto bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middleof the crowd,in front of Jesus.

20 Seeing their faith, He said,“Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”

21 The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is thismanwho speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”

22 But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them,“Why are you reasoning in your hearts?

23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?

24 But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.”

25 Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.

26 They were all struck with astonishment andbeganglorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Call of Levi (Matthew)

27 After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him,“Follow Me.”

28 And he left everything behind, and got up andbeganto follow Him.

29 And Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and otherpeoplewho were recliningat the tablewith them.

30 The Pharisees and their scribesbegangrumbling at His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”

31 And Jesus answered and said to them,“It isnot those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.

32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

33 And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, thedisciplesof the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.”

34 And Jesus said to them,“You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you?

35 Butthedays will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”

36 And He was also telling them a parable:“No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.

37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined.

38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.

39 And no one, after drinking oldwinewishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is goodenough.’ ”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/LUK/5-0a2b3df17322fd27167f395c874f4877.mp3?version_id=100—

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1 Now it happened that He was passing throughsomegrainfields on a Sabbath; and His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eatingthe grain.

2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

3 And Jesus answering them said,“Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him,

4 how he entered the house of God, and took and ate theconsecrated bread which is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?”

5 And He was saying to them,“The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

6 On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.

7 The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closelyto seeif He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might findreasonto accuse Him.

8 But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand,“Get up and come forward!”And he got up and came forward.

9 And Jesus said to them,“I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?”

10 After looking around at them all, He said to him,“Stretch out your hand!”And he didso;and his hand was restored.

11 But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

Choosing the Twelve

12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

13 And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:

14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew;

15 and Matthew and Thomas; Jamesthe sonof Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot;

16 Judasthe sonof James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

17 Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; andthere wasa large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon,

18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.

19 And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healingthemall.

The Beatitudes

20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, Hebeganto say,“Blessedareyouwho arepoor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 Blessedareyou who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessedareyou who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

23 Be glad in that day and leapfor joy,for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.

24 But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.

25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woeto youwho laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

26 Woeto youwhen all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

29 Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.

32 If you love those who love you, what credit isthatto you? For even sinners love those who love them.

33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit isthatto you? For even sinners do the same.

34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit isthatto you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the sameamount.

35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evilmen.

36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together,andrunning over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

39 And He also spoke a parable to them:“A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?

40 A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

41 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

43 For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.

44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evilmanout of the eviltreasurebrings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Builders and Foundations

46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

47 Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like:

48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

49 But the one who has heard and has not actedaccordingly,is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/LUK/6-95ff874ca50437adb457056a3c905fed.mp3?version_id=100—

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant

1 When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum.

2 And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die.

3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave.

4 When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him;

5 for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.”

6 Now Jesusstartedon His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof;

7 for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, butjustsay the word, and my servant will be healed.

8 For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

9 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him,“I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.”

10 When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

11 Soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd.

12 Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her.

13 When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her,“Do not weep.”

14 And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said,“Young man, I say to you, arise!”

15 The dead man sat up and began to speak. AndJesusgave him back to his mother.

16 Fear gripped them all, and theybeganglorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!”

17 This report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.

A Deputation from John

18 The disciples of John reported to him about all these things.

19 Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”

20 When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?’ ”

21 At that very time He cured manypeopleof diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to manywho wereblind.

22 And He answered and said to them,“Go and report to John what you have seen and heard:theblind receive sight,thelame walk,thelepers are cleansed, andthedeaf hear,thedead are raised up,thepoor have the gospel preached to them.

23 Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”

24 When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John,“What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

25 But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury arefoundin royal palaces!

26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet.

27 This is the one about whom it is written,

‘Behold, IsendMy messenger ahead ofYou,

Who will prepareYour way beforeYou.’

28 I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

29 When all the people and the tax collectors heardthis,they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

30 But the Pharisees and thelawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.

31 “To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like?

32 They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’

34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

35 Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

36 Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclinedat the table.

37 And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was recliningat the tablein the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume,

38 and standing behindHimat His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.

39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”

Parable of Two Debtors

40 And Jesus answered him,“Simon, I have something to say to you.”And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.”

41 “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundreddenarii, and the other fifty.

42 When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?”

43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him,“You have judged correctly.”

44 Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon,“Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

45 You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet.

46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.

47 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

48 Then He said to her,“Your sins have been forgiven.”

49 Those who were recliningat the tablewith Him began to say to themselves, “Who is thismanwho even forgives sins?”

50 And He said to the woman,“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/LUK/7-6c4ce060b162cfd36c78bb6437bca893.mp3?version_id=100—