Luke's Story (16 page)

¹³
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

 

¹⁴
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
^a

¹⁵
So it was, wh/b>And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
¹⁷
Now when they had seen
Him,
they made widely
^a
known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
¹⁸
And all those who heard
it
marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
¹⁹
But Mary kept all these things and pondered
them
in her heart.
²⁰
Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

 

Circumcision of Jesus

²¹
And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child,
^a
His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

 

Jesus Presented in the Temple

²²
Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present
Him
to the Lord
²³
(as it is written in the law of the Lord,
“Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD”
),
^a
24
and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord,
“A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
^a

 

Simeon Sees God’s Salvation

²⁵
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name
was
Simeon, and this man
was
just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
²⁶
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
²⁷
So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,
²⁸
he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

 

²⁹
“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,

According to Your word;

³⁰
For my eyes have seen Your salvation

³¹
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,

³²
A light to
bring
revelation to the Gentiles,

And the glory of Your people Israel.”

 

³³
And Joseph and His mother
^a
marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.
³⁴
Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this
Child
is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against
³⁵
(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

2:21
^a
NU-Text reads
for His circumcision.
2:23
^a
Exodus 13:2, 12, 15
2:24
^a
Leviticus 12 Redeemer

³⁶
Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;
³⁷
and this woman
was
a widow of about eighty-four years,
^a
who did not depart from the temple, but served
God
with fastings and prayers night and day.
³⁸
And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord,
^a
and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

 

The Family Returns to Nazareth

³⁹
So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their
own
city, Nazareth.
⁴⁰
And the Child grew and became strong in spirit,
^a
filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

The Boy Jesus
Amazes the Scholars

⁴¹
His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.
⁴²
And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast.
⁴³
When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother
^a
did not know
it;
⁴⁴
but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among
their
relatives and acquaintances.
⁴⁵
So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.
⁴⁶
Now so it was
that
after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.
⁴⁷
And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.
⁴⁸
So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

2:37
^a
NU-Text reads
a widow until she was eighty-four.
2:38
^a
NU-Text reads
to God.
2:40
^a
NU-Text omits
in spirit.
2:43
^a
NU-Text reads
And His parents.

⁴⁹
And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
⁵⁰
But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

 

Jesus Advances in
Wisdom and Favor

⁵¹
Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.
⁵²
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

 

John the Baptist
Prepares the Way

 

3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abo us well pleased.”

 

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

3:19
^a
NU-Text reads
his brother’s wife.
3:24
^a
This and several other names in the genealogy are spelled somewhat differently in the NU-Text. Since the New King James Version uses the Old Testament spelling for persons mentioned in the New Testament, these variations, which come from the Greek, have not been footnoted.

²³
Now Jesus Himself began
His ministry at
about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed)
the
son of Joseph,
the son
of Heli,
²⁴
the son
of Matthat,
^a
the son
of Levi,
the son
of Melchi,
the son
of Janna,
the son
of Joseph,
²⁵
the son
of Mattathiah,
the son
of Amos,
the son
of Nahum,
the son
of Esli,
the son
of Naggai,
²⁶
the son
of Maath,
the son
of Mattathiah,
the son
of Semei,
the son
of Joseph,
the son
of Judah
,
²⁷
the son
of Joannas,
the son
of Rhesa,
the son
of Zerubbabel,
the son
of Shealtiel,
the son
of Neri,
²⁸
the son
of Melchi,
the son
of Addi,
the son
of Cosam,
the son
of Elmodam,
the son
of Er,
²⁹
the son
of Jose,
the son
of Eliezer,
the son
of Jorim,
the son
of Matthat,
the son
of Levi,
³⁰
the son
of Simeon,
the son
of Judah,
the son
of Joseph,
the son
of Jonan,
the son
of Eliakim,
³¹
the son
of Melea,
the son
of Menan,
the son
of Mattathah,
the son
of Nathan,
the son
of David,
³²
the son
of Jesse,
the son
of Obed,
the son
of Boaz,
the son
of Salmon,
the son
of Nahshon,
³³
the son
of Amminadab,
the son
of Ram,
the son
of Hezron,
the son
of Perez,
the son
of Judah,
³⁴
the son
of Jacob,
the son
of Isaac,
the son
of Abraham,
the son
of Terah,
the son
of Nahor,
³⁵
the son
of Serug,
the son
of Reu,
the son
of Peleg,
the son
of Eber,
the son
of Shelah,
³⁶
the son
of Cainan,
the son
of Arphaxad,
the son
of Shem,
the son
of Noah,
the son
of Lamech,
³⁷
the son
of Methuselah,
the son
of Enoch,
the son
of Jared,
the son
of Mahalalel,
the son
of Cainan,
³⁸
the son
of Enosh,
the son
of Seth,
the son
of Adam,
the son
of God.

 

Satan Tempts Jesus

 

4 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into
^a
the wilderness,
²
being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

³
And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

⁴
But Jesus answered him, saying,
^a
“It is written,
‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by ever 61:1, 2

²⁰
Then He closed the book, and gave
it
back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
²¹
And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
²²
So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

²³
He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum,
^a
do also here in Your country.’”
²⁴
Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.
²⁵
But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land;
²⁶
but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath,
^a
in the region
of Sidon, to a woman
who was
a widow.
²⁷
And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸
So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
²⁹
and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.
³⁰
Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.