just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.

(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

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.

(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”),

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”

Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,

How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

“Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”

When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother.

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

The Transfiguration

About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.

Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)

He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’

Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.

Warnings and Encouragements

Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”

Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?