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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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Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
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to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
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“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
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for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.
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On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,
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They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
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Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.
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He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”
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Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
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On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
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After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
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“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”
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“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
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Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
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Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
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All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
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Jesus Heals Many
Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her.
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He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
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Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?
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Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners
After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him,
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Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
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Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
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Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
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Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
