…Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit
and gave this prophecy:
“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.
And I will give you a new heart,
and I will put a new spirit in you.
I will take out your stony, stubborn heart
and give you a tender, responsive heart.
And I will put my Spirit in you…
In the beginning the Word already existed.
the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
He came into the very world he created…
…the Word became human and made his home among us…
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.’”
…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.”
Blessings of miracles to ponder
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, her fiancé, was a good 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.”
Mary responded,
“I am the Lord’s servant.
May everything you have said about me come true.”
And then the angel left her.
Mary asked the angel,
“But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
The angel replied,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
So the baby to be born will be holy,
and he will be called the Son of God.
For nothing is impossible with God.”
Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).
Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).
Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon
(whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).
—
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,
and we will call him Immanuel.
