Luke 1:1 Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us.
2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples.
3 Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus,
4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.
5 When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron.
6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God's eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord's commandments and regulations.
7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.
8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week.
9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense.
10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.
11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar.
12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him.
13 But the angel said, "Don't be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.
14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,
15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.
16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God.
17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly."
18 Zechariah said to the angel, "How can I be sure this will happen? I'm an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years."
19 Then the angel said, "I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was He who sent me to bring you this good news!
20 But now, since you didn't believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time."
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long.
22 When he finally did come out, he couldn't speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.
23 When Zechariah's week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home.
24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months.
25 "How kind the Lord is!" she exclaimed. "He has taken away my disgrace of having no children."
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee,
27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.
28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you! [Blessed are you among women.]"
29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.
30 "Don't be afraid, Mary," the angel told her, "for you have found favor with God!
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name Him Jesus.
32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David.
33 And He will reign over Israel forever; His Kingdom will never end!"
34 Mary asked the angel, "But how can this happen? I am a virgin."
35 The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God.
36 What's more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she's now in her sixth month.
37 For nothing is impossible with God. "
38 Mary responded, "I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true." And then the angel left her.
39 A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town
40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth.
41 At the sound of Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, "God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed.
43 Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me?
44 When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy.
45 You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said."
46 Mary responded, "Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
48 For He took notice of His lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
49 For the Mighty One is holy, and He has done great things for me.
50 He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear Him.
51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
52 He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 He has helped His servant Israel and remembered to be merciful.
55 For He made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever."
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.
57 When it was time for Elizabeth's baby to be born, she gave birth to a son.
58 And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her.
59 When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father.
60 But Elizabeth said, "No! His name is John!"
61 "What?" they exclaimed. "There is no one in all your family by that name."
62 So they used gestures to ask the baby's father what he wanted to name him.
63 He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone's surprise he wrote, "His name is John."
64 Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.
65 Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills.
66 Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, "What will this child turn out to be?" For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.
67 Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:
68 "Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people.
69 He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of His servant David,
70 just as He promised through His holy prophets long ago.
71 Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us.
72 He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering His sacred covenant-
73 the covenant He swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham.
74 We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live.
76 "And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
77 You will tell His people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of God's tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace."
80 John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.
Lk. 2:1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.
2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census.
4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.
5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.
7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped Him snugly in strips of cloth and laid Him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.
9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified,
10 but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
11 The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord-has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
12 And you will recognize Him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others-the armies of heaven-praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased."
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
17 After seeing Him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.
18 All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished,
19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.
20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
21 Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, He was named Jesus, the name given Him by the angel even before He was conceived.
22 Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so His parents took Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.
23 The law of the Lord says, "If a woman's first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the LORD."
24 So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord-"either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."
25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him
26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah.
27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required,
28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 "Sovereign Lord, now let Your servant die in peace, as You have promised.
30 I have seen Your salvation,
31 which You have prepared for all people.
32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and He is the glory of Your people Israel!"
33 Jesus' parents were amazed at what was being said about Him.
34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby's mother, "This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but He will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose Him.
35 As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul."
36 Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years.
37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer.
38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.
39 When Jesus' parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee.
40 There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God's favor was on Him.
41 Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.
42 When Jesus was twelve years old, they attended the festival as usual.
43 After the celebration was over, they started home to Nazareth, but Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents didn't miss Him at first,
44 because they assumed He was among the other travelers. But when He didn't show up that evening, they started looking for Him among their relatives and friends.
45 When they couldn't find Him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for Him there.
46 Three days later they finally discovered Him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions.
47 All who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.
48 His parents didn't know what to think. "Son," His mother said to Him, "why have You done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for You everywhere."
49 "But why did you need to search?" He asked. "Didn't you know that I must be in My Father's house?"
50 But they didn't understand what He meant.
51 Then He returned to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And His mother stored all these things in her heart.
52 Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.
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Psa 78:1 A psalm of Asaph. O my people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying,
2 for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past-
3 stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us.
4 We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about His power and His mighty wonders.
5 For He issued His laws to Jacob; He gave His instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children,
6 so the next generation might know them-even the children not yet born-and they in turn will teach their own children.
7 So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting His glorious miracles and obeying His commands.
8 Then they will not be like their ancestors-stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.
9 The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle.
10 They did not keep God's covenant and refused to live by His instructions.
11 They forgot what He had done-the great wonders He had shown them,
12 the miracles He did for their ancestors on the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.
13 For He divided the sea and led them through, making the water stand up like walls!
14 In the daytime He led them by a cloud, and all night by a pillar of fire.
15 He split open the rocks in the wilderness to give them water, as from a gushing spring.
16 He made streams pour from the rock, making the waters flow down like a river!
17 Yet they kept on sinning against Him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, demanding the foods they craved.
19 They even spoke against God Himself, saying, "God can't give us food in the wilderness.
20 Yes, He can strike a rock so water gushes out, but He can't give His people bread and meat."
21 When the LORD heard them, He was furious. The fire of His wrath burned against Jacob. Yes, His anger rose against Israel,
22 for they did not believe God or trust Him to care for them.
23 But He commanded the skies to open; He opened the doors of heaven.
24 He rained down manna for them to eat; He gave them bread from heaven.
25 They ate the food of angels! God gave them all they could hold.
26 He released the east wind in the heavens and guided the south wind by His mighty power.
27 He rained down meat as thick as dust-birds as plentiful as the sand on the seashore!
28 He caused the birds to fall within their camp and all around their tents.
29 The people ate their fill. He gave them what they craved.
30 But before they satisfied their craving, while the meat was yet in their mouths,
31 the anger of God rose against them, and He killed their strongest men. He struck down the finest of Israel's young men.
32 But in spite of this, the people kept sinning. Despite His wonders, they refused to trust Him.
33 So He ended their lives in failure, their years in terror.
34 When God began killing them, they finally sought Him. They repented and took God seriously.
35 Then they remembered that God was their rock, that God Most High was their redeemer.
36 But all they gave Him was lip service; they lied to Him with their tongues.
37 Their hearts were not loyal to Him. They did not keep His covenant.
38 Yet He was merciful and forgave their sins and did not destroy them all. Many times He held back His anger and did not unleash His fury!
39 For He remembered that they were merely mortal, gone like a breath of wind that never returns.
40 Oh, how often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved His heart in that dry wasteland.
41 Again and again they tested God's patience and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember His power and how He rescued them from their enemies.
43 They did not remember His miraculous signs in Egypt, His wonders on the plain of Zoan.
44 For He turned their rivers into blood, so no one could drink from the streams.
45 He sent vast swarms of flies to consume them and hordes of frogs to ruin them.
46 He gave their crops to caterpillars; their harvest was consumed by locusts.
47 He destroyed their grapevines with hail and shattered their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 He abandoned their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49 He loosed on them His fierce anger-all His fury, rage, and hostility. He dispatched against them a band of destroying angels.
50 He turned His anger against them; He did not spare the Egyptians' lives but ravaged them with the plague.
51 He killed the oldest son in each Egyptian family, the flower of youth throughout the land of Egypt.
52 But He led His own people like a flock of sheep, guiding them safely through the wilderness.
53 He kept them safe so they were not afraid; but the sea covered their enemies.
54 He brought them to the border of His holy land, to this land of hills He had won for them.
55 He drove out the nations before them; He gave them their inheritance by lot. He settled the tribes of Israel into their homes.
56 But they kept testing and rebelling against God Most High. They did not obey His laws.
57 They turned back and were as faithless as their parents. They were as undependable as a crooked bow.
58 They angered God by building shrines to other gods; they made Him jealous with their idols.
59 When God heard them, He was very angry, and He completely rejected Israel.
60 Then He abandoned His dwelling at Shiloh, the Tabernacle where He had lived among the people.
61 He allowed the Ark of His might to be captured; He surrendered His glory into enemy hands.
62 He gave His people over to be butchered by the sword, because He was so angry with His own people-His special possession.
63 Their young men were killed by fire; their young women died before singing their wedding songs.
64 Their priests were slaughtered, and their widows could not mourn their deaths.
65 Then the Lord rose up as though waking from sleep, like a warrior aroused from a drunken stupor.
66 He routed His enemies and sent them to eternal shame.
67 But He rejected Joseph's descendants; He did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 He chose instead the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which He loved.
69 There He built His sanctuary as high as the heavens, as solid and enduring as the earth.
70 He chose His servant David, calling him from the sheep pens.
71 He took David from tending the ewes and lambs and made him the shepherd of Jacob's descendants-God's own people, Israel.
72 He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands. .
