“Sovereign Lord,
now let your servant die in peace,
as you have promised.
I have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared for all people.
He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
“Praise the Lord,
the God of Israel,
because he has visited and redeemed his people.
He has sent us a mighty Savior
from the royal line of his servant David,
just as he promised
through his holy prophets long ago.”
Then John testified,
“I saw the Holy Spirit
descending like a dove from heaven
and resting upon him.
I didn’t know he was the one,
but when God sent me to baptize with water,
he told me,
‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest
is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
I saw this happen to Jesus,
so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”
“Then who are you?…”
John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:
“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Clear the way for the LORD’s coming!’”
The next day
John saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Look!
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
So the Word became human
and made his home among us.
He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.
And we have seen his glory,
the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
He came into the very world he created,
but the world didn’t recognize him.
He came to his own people,
and even they rejected him.
But to all who believed him and accepted him,
he gave the right to become children of God.
They are reborn—
not with a physical birth
resulting from human passion or plan,
but a birth that comes from God.
The Savior—
yes,
the Messiah,
the Lord—
has been born today in Bethlehem,
the city of David!
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.
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.
All right then,
then Lord himself will give you the sign.
Look!
The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son
and will call him Immanuel
(which means ‘God is with us’).
