Conception and Birth of Jesus

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him,

The Temptation of Jesus

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Now when evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill.

The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service

Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.

For it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking in you.

“Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul delights; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

But if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.

And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

“Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it.

Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,

I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Him;

And immediately the Spirit *brought Him out into the wilderness.

Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

After throwing him into convulsions and crying out with a loud voice, the unclean spirit came out of him.

And they were all amazed, so they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”