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The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
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Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
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and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
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Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
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Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
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Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
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But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
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“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
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But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
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and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
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“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
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“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
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And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
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The Escape to Egypt
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
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“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
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and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
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So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
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But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,
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This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
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And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
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The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
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“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
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His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
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Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
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As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
