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Jesus A modern English blending of the New Testament Everything Jesus said and did, nothing more, nothing less.
Introduction Table of Contents
Chapters
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Toward the end of Mary's pregnancy the Emperor Caesar Augustus
decreed that a census be taken of the Roman Empire and ordered every one to
return to his home town to be registered. Since Joseph was a descendant of
David, he went with Mary to Bethlehem - "King David's town." While they were there, she went into labor and her son was
born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and, because they hadn't been
able to get a room at the inn, made a bed for him in a manger. In the fields outside the town were some shepherds tending
their sheep. Suddenly, an angel appeared in their midst, and the fields
and sky shone radiantly with God's presence. The shepherds were terrified.
"Do not be alarmed," the angel said, "I have come to announced
to the world the most joyful of all good news. The Messiah was come!
your savior was born in Bethlehem today. You will know him because he is wrapped
in swaddling cloths and his bed is in a manger." Then suddenly, filling the sky, there was an army of angels,
their voices raised in song: Then, as quickly as they has appeared, the angels were gone.
"Come on," said one of the shepherds. "Let's go into
town. Let's see for ourselves what's happened." They ran into the town and found Mary and Joseph and, as
they had been told, the baby in a manger. Trembling with excitement, the
shepherds poured out the story of what the angel had said to them. The people
in the house listened, astonished. As for Mary, she stored it all in her
mind and puzzled over it, but she said nothing. Later, the shepherds went
back to the fields, their hearts filled with gratitude that what the angel
told them had been confirmed. When the baby was circumcized on the eight day, he was named
Jesus, the name given to him by the angel before he was conceived. When the time came for the Mosaic ceremony of the mother's
purification and the dedication of the child to God, his parents took Jesus
to Jerusalem. It was a requirement of the Law that every first-born male
be dedicated to God, and that to mark the occasion two turtle doves or two
young pigeons be sacrificed. When they arrived at the temple they were met by a man named
Simeon. He was a good man, deeply religious and filled with the spirit of
God, who lived in hope of the salvation of Israel. He lived each day in
the expectation that on that day the Messiah would come: God had promised
him that he would see the Messiah before he died. On this particular day,
prompted by God, he went into the temple enclosure and saw Joseph and Mary
with the baby. He went to them, took the baby in his arms and prayed: Joseph and Mary listened, thrilled at his words. Simeon
gave them his blessing and spoke to Mary. "Your child, "he said," will be
the cause of the rising and the falling of many in Israel. He will create
controversy and will be opposed because he will reveal men's true motives.
And you, Mary, your heart is going to be wounded, as though pierced by
a sword." Also in the temple at the time was a prophetess by the name
of Anna, the daughter of a man named Phanuel, a descendant of Asher. She
was very old and had been a widow for eighty-four years, her husband having
died after only seven years of marriage. The temple had become her home and
she never left it, for she worshiped at all hours of the day and night, and
sometimes fasted. She, too, came up to Joseph and Mary and said prayers
of thanksgiving for the baby's birth. Afterwards, she went to all those
who waited for the Messiah's coming and told them she had seen Jesus. Some time later, a group of astrologers from an eastern country
arrived in Jerusalem. "Where may we find the infant King of Israel?" they asked.
"We saw his star and have come to pay him homage." The news of their arrival in the city and reason for their
visit reached Herod and caused him no small concern. Indeed, it created a
general air of apprehension in the city. Herod had the chief priests and
scribes assembled and put questions to them. "When the Messiah comes," he asked, "where is he to be born?" "In Bethlehem," they told him, and quoted the prophecy: Herod dismisses them and summoned the visiting astrologers
to a private meeting. He pressed them with questions and learned at what
time they had first seen the star. "Now," he said, "I have a mission for you. I want you to
go to Bethlehem and to conduct a careful search for the child. When you've
found him, send word to me and I'll come and join you in your worship." They left Jerusalem and followed the star to Bethlehem until
- as they watched with mounting excitement - it appeared to come to rest over
the house where Jesus was. They went inside, and when they saw Mary with
the baby, they dropped to their knees and worshiped him. From their travel
bags, they took gifts made of gold and the fragrances of frankincense and
myrrh. When they left Bethlehem for they journey home they deliberately
by-passed Jerusalem, having been warned in a dream to avoid Herod. Shortly after they had gone, Joseph had a dream in which he
was warned about Herod. An angel appeared and told him that Herod was about
to institute a search to find and kill the child. He was therefore to take
Mary and the baby and go to Egypt. Joseph got out of bed and woke Mary. They packed some of their
belongings and left they city under cover of darkness. Once more a prophecy had been fulfilled. Hosea had written:
I have summoned my son from Egypt. When he received no report from the astrologers, Herod realized
he had been tricked. In his rage he ordered that every boy under the age of
two in the Bethlehem area be killed. (He set the age at two on the basis
of what he had learned from the astrologers.) And so the prediction of the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: Time passed and Herod died. In Egypt, Joseph had a dream
in which an angel came to him from God. "It is time to go home," the angel said. "Take Mary and
the child and return to Israel. Those who tried to murder him are dead." As they neared the border, Joseph learned that Herod had
been succeeded by his son, Archelaus. For this reason he skirted Judea,
settling in a town in Galilee called Nazareth; for the prophets had said
of the Messiah, He shall be called a Nazarene. It was in Nazareth that Jesus spent his boyhood. He was
a deeply spiritual child, wise beyond his years and with God's blessings
clearly on his life. It was the custom of Jesus' parents to go to Jerusalem each
year for the Passover, and when the boy reached the age of twelve they took
him along. When the festival was over, they started back to Nazareth assuming
that he was with relatives or friends in the caravan. It was not until
nightfall that, having looked for him for up and down the caravan, they
realized he was lost. They hurried back to Jerusalem, searching for him everywhere
along the road and in the city. Three days later they found him sitting among
the teachers of the law in the temple, listening to them, asking questions,
astonishing them all with his grasp of the law and with the answers he gave.
Even his parents were surprised at his composure. "Why have you treated your father and me like this?" Mary
said. "We've looked everywhere for you. Don't you realize that we were sick
of worry?" "But why did you search for me?" he asked. "Surely you know
it's my duty to be in my father's house?" They didn't understand. After their return home, he was an obedient son. Mary stored
all these early experiences in her memory and would often ponder them. As
for Jesus, he grew older, taller and wiser, popular among his fellows and
loved by God. |