Matthew 1; Luke 2:1-38

1 This is a record of the family line of Jesus Christ. He is the son of David. He is also the son of Abraham.

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.

3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah. Tamar was their mother. Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram.

4 Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon.

5 Salmon was the father of Boaz. Rahab was Boaz's mother. Boaz was the father of Obed. Ruth was Obed's mother. Obed was the father of Jesse.

6 And Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon. Solomon's mother had been Uriah's wife.

7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asa.

8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram. Jehoram was the father of Uzziah.

9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.

10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah.

11 And Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers. At that time, the Jewish people were forced to go away to Babylon.

12 After this, the family line continued. Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.

13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor.

14 Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Akim. Akim was the father of Eliud.

15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob.

16 Jacob was the father of Joseph. Joseph was the husband of Mary. And Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called Christ.

17 So there were 14 generations from Abraham to David. There were 14 from David until the Jewish people were forced to go away to Babylon. And there were 14 from that time to the Christ.

18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary and Joseph had promised to get married. But before they started to live together, it became clear that she was going to have a baby. She became pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.

19 Her husband Joseph was a godly man. He did not want to put her to shame in public. So he planned to divorce her quietly.

20 But as Joseph was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit.

21 She is going to have a son. You must give him the name Jesus. That is because he will save his people from their sins."

22 All of this took place to bring about what the Lord had said would happen. He had said through the prophet,

23 "The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And he will be called Immanuel."(Isaiah 7:14) The name Immanuel means "God with us."

24 Joseph woke up. He did what the angel of the Lord commanded him to do. He took Mary home as his wife.

25 But he did not make love to her until after she gave birth to a son. And Joseph gave him the name Jesus.

1 In those days, Caesar Augustus made a law. It required that a list be made of everyone in the whole Roman world.

2 It was the first time a list was made of the people while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

3 All went to their own towns to be listed.

4 So Joseph went also. He went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea. That is where Bethlehem, the town of David, was. Joseph went there because he belonged to the family line of David.

5 He went there with Mary to be listed. Mary was engaged to him. She was expecting a baby.

6 While Joseph and Mary were there, the time came for the child to be born.

7 She gave birth to her first baby. It was a boy. She wrapped him in large strips of cloth. Then she placed him in a manger. There was no room for them in the inn.

8 There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby. It was night, and they were looking after their sheep.

9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them. And the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were terrified.

10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy. It is for all the people.

11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.

12 Here is how you will know I am telling you the truth. You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger."

13 Suddenly a large group of angels from heaven also appeared. They were praising God. They said,

14 "May glory be given to God in the highest heaven! And may peace be given to those he is pleased with on earth!"

15 The angels left and went into heaven. Then the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem. Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby. The baby was lying in the manger.

17 After the shepherds had seen him, they told everyone. They reported what the angel had said about this child.

18 All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

19 But Mary kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. She thought about them over and over.

20 The shepherds returned. They gave glory and praise to God. Everything they had seen and heard was just as they had been told.

21 When the child was eight days old, he was circumcised. At the same time he was named Jesus. This was the name the angel had given him before his mother became pregnant.

22 The time for making them pure came as it is written in the Law of Moses. So Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem. There they presented him to the Lord.

23 In the Law of the Lord it says, "The first boy born in every family must be set apart for the Lord."(Exodus 13:2,12)

24 They also offered a sacrifice. They did it in keeping with the Law, which says, "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."(Leviticus 12:8)

25 In Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was a good and godly man. He was waiting for God's promise to Israel to happen. The Holy Spirit was with him.

26 The Spirit had told Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

27 The Spirit led him into the temple courtyard. Then Jesus' parents brought the child in. They came to do for him what the Law required.

28 Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God. He said,

29 "Lord, you are the King over all. Now let me, your servant, go in peace. That is what you promised.

30 My eyes have seen your salvation.

31 You have prepared it in the sight of all people.

32 It is a light to be given to those who aren't Jews. It will bring glory to your people Israel."

33 The child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him.

34 Then Simeon blessed them. He said to Mary, Jesus' mother, "This child is going to cause many people in Israel to fall and to rise. God has sent him. But many will speak against him.

35 The thoughts of many hearts will be known. A sword will wound your own soul too."

36 There was also a prophet named Anna. She was the daughter of Penuel from the tribe of Asher. Anna was very old. After getting married, she lived with her husband seven years.

37 Then she was a widow until she was 84. She never left the temple. She worshiped night and day, praying and going without eating.

38 Anna came up to Jesus' family at that very moment. She gave thanks to God. And she spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the time when Jerusalem would be set free.