Luke 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.
9Suddenly, 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.
22Then 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.”
36Anna, 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.
