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.”
They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph.
And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
Luke 2:15-16
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—
the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
And while they were there,
the time came for her baby to be born.
She gave birth to her firstborn son.
She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth
and laid him in a manger,
because there was no lodging available for them.
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus,
decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.
(This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census.
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.
He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged,
who was now expecting a child.
Luke 2:1-5
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
When Joseph woke up,
he did as the angel of the Lord commanded
and took Mary as his wife.
But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born.
And Joseph named him Jesus.
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born.
His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph.
But before the marriage took place,
while she was still a virgin,
she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph, to whom she was engaged,
was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly,
so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
As he considered this,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.
“Joseph, son of David,” the angel said,
“do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.
For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,
for he will save his people from their sins.”
The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,
a light will shine.
For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Mary responded,
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful.
For he made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea,
to the town where Zechariah lived.
She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth.
At the sound of Mary’s greeting,
Elizabeth’s child leaped within her,
and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary,
“God has blessed you above all women,
and your child is blessed.
Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me?
When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy.
You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy,
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee,
to a virgin named Mary.
She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph,
a descendant of King David.
Gabriel appeared to her and said,
“Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.
“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her,
“for you have found favor with God!
You will conceive and give birth to a son,
and you will name him Jesus.
He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.
And he will reign over Israel forever;
his Kingdom will never end!”
