Matthew 2; Luke 2:39-52

1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea when Herod was king. After Jesus' birth wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem.

2 They asked, "Where is the one who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star rising and have come to worship him."

3 When King Herod and all Jerusalem heard about this, they became disturbed.

4 He called together all the chief priests and scribes and tried to find out from them where the Messiah was supposed to be born.

5 They told him, "In Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this:

6 Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah. A leader will come from you. He will shepherd my people Israel."

7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared.

8 As he sent them to Bethlehem, he said, "Go and search carefully for the child. When you have found him, report to me so that I may go and worship him too."

9 After they had heard the king, they started out. The star they had seen rising led them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

10 They were overwhelmed with joy to see the star.

11 When they entered the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary. So they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they left for their country by another road.

13 After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. The angel said to him, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and kill him."

14 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left for Egypt that night.

15 He stayed there until Herod died. What the Lord had spoken through the prophet came true: "I have called my son out of Egypt."

16 When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he became furious. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys two years old and younger in or near Bethlehem. This matched the exact time he had learned from the wise men.

17 Then the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah came true:

18 "A sound was heard in Ramah, the sound of crying in bitter grief. Rachel was crying for her children. She refused to be comforted because they were dead."

19 After Herod was dead, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.

20 The angel said to him, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to Israel. Those who tried to kill the child are dead."

21 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to Israel.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Judea, Joseph was afraid to go there. Warned in a dream, he left for Galilee

23 and made his home in a city called Nazareth. So what the prophets had said came true: "He will be called a Nazarene."

39 After doing everything the Lord's Teachings required, Joseph and Mary returned to their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee.

40 The child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God's favor was with him.

41 Every year Jesus' parents would go to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.

42 When he was 12 years old, they went as usual.

43 When the festival was over, they left for home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents didn't know it.

44 They thought that he was with the others who were traveling with them. After traveling for a day, they started to look for him among their relatives and friends.

45 When they didn't find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.

46 Three days later, they found him in the temple courtyard. He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions.

47 His understanding and his answers stunned everyone who heard him.

48 When his parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother asked him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been worried sick looking for you!"

49 Jesus said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you realize that I had to be in my Father's house?"

50 But they didn't understand what he meant.

51 Then he returned with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

52 Jesus grew in wisdom and maturity. He gained favor from God and people.