The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ 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^[a] quietly.

²⁰ 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. ²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,^[b] for he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

¹⁴ All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin^[a] will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

³⁸ Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town ⁴⁰ where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth.

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.

⁴¹ No, you are imitating your real father.”

They replied, “We aren’t illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father.”

⁴⁸ The people retorted, “You Samaritan devil! Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?”

¹⁰ The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.