His name is holy.

50 For those who fear him, his mercy lasts throughout every generation.

51 "He displayed his mighty power.

He scattered those who think too highly of themselves.

52 He pulled strong rulers from their thrones.

He honored humble people.

53 He fed hungry people with good food.

He sent rich people away with nothing.

54 "He remembered to help his servant Israel forever.

55 This is the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and his descendants."

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

John Is Born 57 When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very kind to her, and they shared her joy.

59 When the child was eight days old, they went to the temple to circumcise him. They were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60 But his mother spoke up, "Absolutely not! His name will be John."

61 Their friends said to her, "But you don't have any relatives with that name."

62 So they motioned to the baby's father to see what he wanted to name the child. 63 Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." Everyone was amazed.

64 Suddenly, Zechariah was able to speak, and he began to praise God.

65 All their neighbors were filled with awe. Throughout the mountain region of Judea, people talked about everything that had happened. 66 Everyone who heard about it seriously thought it over and asked, "What does the future hold for this child?" It was clear that the Lord was with him.

67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, 68 "Praise the Lord God of Israel!

He has come to take care of his people and to set them free.

69 He has raised up a mighty Savior for us in the family of his servant David.

70 He made this promise through his holy prophets long ago.

71 He promised to save us from our enemies and from the power of all who hate us.

72 He has shown his mercy to our ancestors and remembered his holy promise,a 73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham.

74 He promised to rescue us from our enemies' power so that we could serve him without fear 75 by being holy and honorable as long as we live.

76 "You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High.

You will go ahead of the Lord to prepare his way.

77 You will make his people know that they can be saved through the forgiveness of their sins.

78 A new day will dawn on us from above because our God is loving and merciful.

79 He will give light to those who live in the dark and in death's shadow.

He will guide us into the way of peace."

80 The child John grew and became spiritually strong. He lived in the desert until the day he appeared to the people of Israel.

Jesus Is Born 2 1 At that time the Emperor Augustus ordered a census of the Roman Empire. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All the people went to register in the cities where their ancestors had lived.

4 So Joseph went from Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a Judean city called Bethlehem. Joseph, a descendant of King David, went to Bethlehem because David had been born there. 5 Joseph went there to register with Mary. She had been promised to him in marriage and was pregnant.

6 While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have her child. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there wasn't any room for them in the inn.

Angels Announce the Birth of Jesus 8 Shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem. They were taking turns watching their flock during the night. 9 An angel from the Lord suddenly appeared to them. The glory of the Lord filled the area with light, and they were terrified. 10 The angel said to them, "Don't be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. 11 Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David's city. 12 This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger."

13 Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel. They were praising God by saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those who have his good will!"

15 The angels left them and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about."

16 They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in a manger. 17 When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him. 18 Everyone who heard the shepherds' story was amazed.

19 Mary treasured all these things in her heart and always thought about them.

20 As the shepherds returned to their flock, they glorified and praised God for everything they had seen and heard. Everything happened the way the angel had told them.

Jesus' Parents Obey Moses' Teachings 21 Eight days after his birth, the child was circumcised and named Yeshua. This was the name the angel had given him before his mother became pregnant.

22 After the days required by Moses' Teachings to make a mother cleana had passed, Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem. They took Yeshua to present him to the Lord. 23 They did exactly what was written in the Lord's Teachings: "Every firstborn boy is to be set apart as holy to the Lord." 24 They also offered a sacrifice as required by the Lord's Teachings: "a pair of mourning doves or two young pigeons."

Simeon's Prophecy 25 A man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. He lived an honorable and devout life. He was waiting for the one who would comfort Israel. The Holy Spirit was with Simeon 26 and had told him that he wouldn't die until he had seen the Messiah, whom the Lord would send.

27 Moved by the Spirit, Simeon went into the temple courtyard. Mary and Joseph were bringing the child Yeshua into the courtyard at the same time. They brought him so that they could do for him what Moses' Teachings required. 28 Then Simeon took the child in his arms and praised God by saying, 29 "Now, Lord, you are allowing your servant to leave in peace as you promised.

30 My eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared for all people to see.

32 He is a light that will reveal salvation to the nations and bring glory to your people Israel."

33 Yeshua's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, "This child is the reason that many people in Israel will be condemned and many others will be saved. He will be a sign that will expose 35 the thoughts of those who reject him. And a sword will pierce your heart."

Anna's Prophecy 36 Anna, a prophet, was also there. She was a descendant of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was now very old. Her husband had died seven years after they were married, 37 and she had been a widow for 84 years. Anna never left the temple courtyard but worshiped day and night by fasting and praying. 38 At that moment she came up to Mary and Joseph and began to thank God. She spoke about Yeshua to all who were waiting for Jerusalem to be set free.

39 After doing everything the Lord's Teachings required, Joseph and Mary returned to their hometown of Nazareth in Galilee. 40 The child grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God's favorb was with him.

Mary and Joseph Find Jesus with the Teachers in the Temple Courtyard 41 Every year Yeshua's parents would go to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. 42 When he was 12 years old, they went as usual.

43 When the festival was over, they left for home. The boy Yeshua stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents didn't know it. 44 They thought that he was with the others who were traveling with them. After traveling for a day, they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they didn't find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.

46 Three days later, they found him in the temple courtyard. He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions. 47 His understanding and his answers stunned everyone who heard him.

48 When his parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother asked him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been worried sick looking for you!"

49 Yeshua said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Didn't you realize that I had to be in my Father's house?" 50 But they didn't understand what he meant.

51 Then he returned with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them.

His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 Yeshua grew in wisdom and maturity. He gained favor from God and people.

CHILD.

Though the Israelites considered children a great blessing, children occupied the bottom rung of the social ladder. To be a child was to be powerless, dependent, subservient. Entrusted with the solemn responsibility of teaching and disciplining them, parents were accorded nearly absolute authority. Yet even little children and young infants could receive wisdom from God and their lips could praise him.

In fact, a child was always at the heart of the biblical covenant. Already in the Garden of Eden, God promised that Eve's offspring would crush the head of the serpent who beguiled her. Later God made a covenant with Abraham, promising that Sarah would bear him a child who would be the first of countless descendants. The prophet Isaiah spoke of a child, or yeled, who would be born of a virgin and who would sit on David's throne (Isaiah 9:6-7). This child would be given the name Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The New Testament tells of the fulfillment of that promise. Luke's Gospel tells us that Mary, while she was still betrothed to Joseph, was expecting a child, or pais, and that she gave birth to her baby in Bethlehem. This child, the angel Gabriel proclaimed, was destined to become a great man.

Jesus himself presents children as the model for his followers, pointing out that the only way to enter the kingdom is with the humility and trust of little children.

Praying to the Child One of my best friends in graduate school was an Iranian student I'll call Fatemeh. After she graduated, Fatemeh returned home just in time for the Iranian revolution and the subsequent Iran-Iraq war. I lost touch with her until she visited her sister in Canada several years later.

Fatemeh and I had always had spirited conversations about religion, and by the time I met up with her in Canada, the American press was characterizing Iran as a country full of Islamic fundamentalists. But when I enquired about the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in her country, my friend emphatically stated that, "Nobody in Iran has faith any more. Everyone is disillusioned." I took that to mean that, at least in her circle, among many educated Iranians, faith had evaporated.

Fatemeh went on to explain that during the Iran-Iraq war, religious leaders had urged small children to run across minefields to clear the way for ground troops, assuring them a place in paradise for doing so. How, she wondered, could anyone have faith in anything after that?

The story shocked me. Since then I have learned that there are an estimated one hundred million land mines buried in sixty-five countries around the world. Of course no one would ever suggest that this intractable problem be solved by the sacrifice of innocent lives.

What has any of this to do with the biblical promise of a child who would come to save his people? Only that sin is something like those hidden land mines, scattered throughout the world, waiting for a chance to destroy us. From the first, there were hints of a child who would defeat the power of evil. In Genesis, God cursed the snake who tempted Eve, saying, "I will make your descendants and her descendant hostile toward each other. He will crush your head, and you will bruise his heel" (3:15). Christ was born into the world to fulfill this promise-to clear the way for you and me so that we will not be blown away by sin's explosive, disfiguring power.

Jesus, thank you for doing your Father's will, trusting him, depending on him, and glorifying him through your life, death, and resurrection. Help me to become like a little child, following you in simple trust and faith.

Promises Associated with the Name CHILD.

So Adonay himself will give you this sign: A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel [God Is With Us]. (Isaiah 7:14) A child will be born for us. A son will be given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. He will be named: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Sar Shalom. (Isaiah 9:6) Don't be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David's city. This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger. (Luke 2:10-12)

John Prepares the Way-Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; John 1:19-28 3 1 It was the fifteenth year in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea. Herod ruled Galilee, and his brother Philip ruled Iturea and Trachonitis. Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene. 2 It was at the time when Annas and Caiaphas were chief priests that God spoke to John, son of Zechariah, in the desert. 3 John traveled throughout the region around the Jordan River. He told people about a baptism of repentancea for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As the prophet Isaiah wrote in his book, "A voice cries out in the desert: 'Prepare the way for the Lord!

Make his paths straight!

5 Every valley will be filled.

Every mountain and hill will be leveled.

The crooked ways will be made straight.

The rough roads will be made smooth.

6 All people will see the salvation that God gives.'"

7 Crowds of people were coming to be baptized by John. He would say to them, "You poisonous snakes! Who showed you how to flee from God's coming anger? 8 Do those things that prove that you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act. Don't say, Abraham is our ancestor.' I guarantee that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones. 9 The ax is now ready to cut the roots of the trees. Any tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire."

10 The crowds asked him, "What should we do?"

11 He answered them, "Whoever has two shirts should share with the person who doesn't have any. Whoever has food should share it too."

12 Some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, "Teacher, what should we do?"

13 He told them, "Don't collect more money than you are ordered to collect."

14 Some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"

He told them, "Be satisfied with your pay, and never use threats or blackmail to get money from anyone."

15 People's hopes were rising as they all wondered whether John was the Messiah. 16 John replied to all of them, "I baptize you with water. But the one who is more powerful than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie his sandal straps. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowinga shovel is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor.b He will gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn the husks in a fire that can never be put out."

18 With many other encouraging words, he told the Good News to the people.

19 John spoke out against the ruler Herod because Herod had married his own sister-in-law, Herodias. He also spoke out against Herod for all the evil things he had done. 20 So Herod added one more evil to all the others; he locked John in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus-Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11 21 When all the people were baptized, Yeshua, too, was baptized. While he was praying, heaven opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit came down to him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven said, "You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you."

23 Yeshua was about 30 years old when he began his ministry.

The Ancestors of Jesus Yeshua , so people thought, was the son of Joseph, son of Eli, 24 son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph, 25 son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai, 26 son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda, 27 son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, son of Neri, 28 son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er, 29 son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi, 30 son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim, 31 son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David, 32 son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Salmon, son of Nahshon, 33 son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni, son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah, 34 son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor, 35 son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah, 36 son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech, 37 son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan, 38 son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.

The Devil Tempts Jesus-Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13 4 1 Yeshua was filled with the Holy Spirit as he left the Jordan River. The Spirit led him while he was in the desert, 2 where he was tempted by the devil for 40 days. During those days Yeshua ate nothing, so when they were over, he was hungry.