New Testament · Gospels and Acts

Luke chapter 2

Around that time, issued an official that everyone in the entire Roman Empire should be .This was the first census taken while was governing Syria.So everyone went to their own ancestral town to get registered.Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in the region of Galilee to Judea, to — the town of David — because he was a .He went to get registered along with Mary, who was and was expecting a child.While they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.She gave birth to her , wrapped him snugly in , and laid him in a — because there was no room for them in the .Nearby, there were living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks through the night.Suddenly, a appeared to them, and the brilliant of God blazed all around them. They were absolutely terrified.But the messenger said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Listen — I’m bringing you an , and it’s for everyone everywhere.Today, in the town of David, a has been born for you — he is , the .And here’s how you’ll recognize him: you’ll find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”Then instantly, a appeared with the first one, all praising God and saying:“All to God in the highest heaven, and on earth, to !”When the messengers had left them and gone back into heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem right now and see this thing that’s happened — the one that God has told us about.”They rushed there and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the feeding trough.After they had seen him, they spread the word about everything they’d been told about this child.Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them.But Mary kept all these things to herself, .The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen, which was exactly as they had been told.On the eighth day, when it was time to him, he was given the name — the name the messenger had given him before he was even conceived.When the time came for their according to the , they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to God,as it’s written in God’s law: “Every firstborn male ,”and to offer the sacrifice that God’s law requires: “.”Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was a man who was waiting expectantly for God to come and , and was on him.The Breath of God had revealed to him that he would not die before he had seen God’s chosen king — .Led by the Breath, Simeon came into the . When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the law required,Simeon took the baby in his arms and praised God, saying:“, you can now , just as you promised.Because my own eyes have now seen your —the one you’ve prepared for all people to see: to , and the of your people Israel.”The child’s father and mother were stunned at what was being said about him.Then Simeon and said to Mary his mother, “Listen carefully — this child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall and many to rise. He will be a sign that people will argue against,and too — so that the will be exposed.”There was also a named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, from the . She was very old — she had been married for seven years after her girlhood,and then was a until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, worshiping night and day with fasting and prayer.Coming up to them at that very moment, she began giving thanks to God and speaking about the child to everyone who was looking forward to the .When Joseph and Mary had completed everything required by God’s law, they returned to their own town of Nazareth in Galilee.And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and was on him.Every year, his parents went to Jerusalem for the .When Jesus was , they went up to the festival as usual.After the festival was over and they were heading home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem — but his parents didn’t realize it.Assuming he was somewhere in their , they went a full day’s journey before they started looking for him among their relatives and friends.When they didn’t find him, they went back to Jerusalem to search for him.After three days, they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the , listening to them and asking them questions.Everyone who heard him was by his understanding and his answers.When his parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been , searching everywhere for you!”“Why were you searching for me?” he asked them. “Didn’t you know I had to be in ?”But they didn’t understand what he meant by this.Then he went back to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. And his mother continued to .And Jesus grew in and , and in with God and with everyone around him.