Annunciation and birth: Luke tells how the promises come true

1Many have undertaken to compose an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, ²just as they were handed down to us by the initial eyewitnesses and servants of the word. ³Therefore, having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. ⁵In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and whose wife Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron. ⁶Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord. ⁷But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years. ⁸One day while Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, ⁹he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰And at the hour of the incense offering, the whole congregation was praying outside. ¹¹Just then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and gripped with fear. ¹³But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. ¹⁴He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” ¹⁸“How can I be sure of this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.” ¹⁹“I am Gabriel,” replied the angel. “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰And now you will be silent and unable to speak until the day this comes to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.” ²¹Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he took so long in the temple. ²²When he came out and was unable to speak to them, they realized he had seen a vision in the temple. He kept making signs to them but remained speechless. ²³And when the days of his service were complete, he returned home. ²⁴After these days, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. She declared, ²⁵“The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.” ²⁶In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰So the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, ³³and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end!” ³⁴“How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” ³⁵The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Look, even Elizabeth your relative has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷For no word from God will ever fail.” ³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her. ³⁹In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah, ⁴⁰where she entered the home of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord’s word to her will be fulfilled.” ⁴⁶Then Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! ⁴⁸For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed. ⁴⁹For the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is His name. ⁵⁰His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. ⁵¹He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts. ⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble. ⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴He has helped His servant Israel, remembering to be merciful, ⁵⁵as He promised to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.” ⁵⁶Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. ⁵⁷When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him after his father Zechariah. ⁶⁰But his mother replied, “No! He shall be called John.” ⁶¹They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who bears this name.” ⁶²So they made signs to his father to find out what he wanted to name the child. ⁶³Zechariah asked for a tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. ⁶⁴Immediately Zechariah’s mouth was opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵All their neighbors were filled with awe, and people throughout the hill country of Judea were talking about these events. ⁶⁶And all who heard this wondered in their hearts and asked, “What then will this child become?” For the Lord’s hand was with him. ⁶⁷Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: ⁶⁸“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and redeemed His people. ⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, ⁷⁰as He spoke through His holy prophets, those of ages past, ⁷¹salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, ⁷²to show mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, ⁷³the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us ⁷⁴deliverance from hostile hands, that we may serve Him without fear, ⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives. ⁷⁶And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, ⁷⁷to give to His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, ⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high, ⁷⁹to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” ⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.

2Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire. ²This was the first census to take place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³And everyone went to his own town to register. ⁴So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to him in marriage and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for her Child to be born. ⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. ⁸And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. ⁹Just then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: ¹¹Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! ¹²And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: ¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!” ¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷After they had seen the Child, they spread the message they had received about Him. ¹⁸And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, which was just as the angel had told them. ²¹When the eight days until His circumcision had passed, He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given Him before He had been conceived. ²²And when the time of purification according to the Law of Moses was complete, His parents brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord ²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to the Lord”), ²⁴and to offer the sacrifice specified in the Law of the Lord: “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” ²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for Him what was customary under the Law, ²⁸Simeon took Him in his arms and blessed God, saying: ²⁹“Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You now dismiss Your servant in peace. ³⁰For my eyes have seen Your salvation, ³¹which You have prepared in the sight of all people, ³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.” ³³The Child’s father and mother were amazed at what was spoken about Him. ³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed— and a sword will pierce your soul as well.” ³⁶There was also a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was well along in years. She had been married for seven years, ³⁷and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. ³⁸Coming forward at that moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the Child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. ³⁹When Jesus’ parents had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰And the Child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him. ⁴¹Every year His parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. ⁴²And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the Feast. ⁴³When those days were over and they were returning home, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware He had stayed. ⁴⁴Assuming He was in their company, they traveled on for a day before they began to look for Him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵When they could not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him. ⁴⁶Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷And all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. “Child, why have You done this to us?” His mother asked. “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.” ⁴⁹“Why were you looking for Me?” He asked. “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” ⁵⁰But they did not understand the statement He was making to them. ⁵¹Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart. ⁵²And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.