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Beginning

Read the Bible from start to finish, from Genesis to Revelation.

Duration: 365 days

Luke 2-3

Chapter 2

The Birth of Jesus.^[a] ¹In those days, a decree was issued by Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken throughout the entire world. ²This was the first such registration, and it took place when Quirinius^[b] was governor of Syria.

³Everyone traveled to his own town to be enrolled. ⁴Joseph therefore went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David. ⁵He went to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,^[c] because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸In the nearby countryside there were shepherds living in the fields and keeping watch over their flock throughout the night. ⁹Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were terror-stricken, ¹⁰but the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for I bring you good news of great joy for all the people. ¹¹For this day in the city of David there has been born to you a Savior who is Christ, the Lord.

¹²“This will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to all those on whom his favor rests.”^[d]

¹⁵The Visit of the Shepherds. After the angels had departed from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Come, let us go to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶And so they set off in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

¹⁷When they saw the child, they recounted the message that had been told them about him. ¹⁸All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹As for Mary, she treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as they had been told.

²¹The Circumcision and Naming of Jesus.^[e]On the eighth day, when the time for the child’s circumcision had arrived, he was given the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived in the womb.

²²Jesus Is Presented in the Temple. When the days for their purification were completed according to the Law of Moses, they brought the child up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, ²³as it is prescribed in the Law of the Lord: “Every firstborn male shall be consecrated to the Lord,” ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice in accordance with what is stated in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

²⁵The Prophecy of Simeon. At that time, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This upright and devout man was awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. ²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not experience death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.

²⁷Prompted by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was required by the Law, ²⁸he took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹“Now, Lord, you may dismiss your servant in peace,
    according to your word;
³⁰for my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹    which you have prepared in the sight of all the peoples,
³²a light of revelation to the Gentiles
    and glory for your people Israel.”

³³The child’s father and mother marveled at what was being said about him. ³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother: “This child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed, ³⁵so that the secret thoughts of many will be revealed, and you yourself a sword will pierce.”

³⁶The Witness of Anna. There was also present a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very advanced in years, having lived with her husband for seven years after their marriage, ³⁷and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped with fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸At that moment, she came forward and began to praise God, while she spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.

³⁹The Return to Nazareth. When they had fulfilled everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was upon him.

⁴¹The Boy Jesus in the Temple.^[f] Every year his parents used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. ⁴²And when Jesus was twelve years old, they made the journey as usual for the feast. ⁴³When the days of the feast were over and they set off for home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents were not aware of this. ⁴⁴Assuming that he was somewhere in the group of travelers, they journeyed for a day. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends, ⁴⁵but when they failed to find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.

⁴⁶After three days they found him in the temple, where he was sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷And all who heard him were amazed at his intelligence and his answers. ⁴⁸When they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him: “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been searching for you with great anxiety.” ⁴⁹Jesus said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” ⁵⁰But they did not comprehend what he said to them.

⁵¹Jesus Grows in Wisdom and Grace. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and he was obedient to them. His mother pondered all these things in her heart. ⁵²And Jesus increased in wisdom and in age and in grace with God and men.

The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry^[g]

Chapter 3

The Ministry of John the Baptist. ¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias^[h] was tetrarch of Abilene, ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,^[i] the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. ³He journeyed throughout the entire region of the Jordan valley, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
    make straight his paths.
⁵Every valley shall be filled in,
    and every mountain and hill shall be leveled;
the winding roads shall be straightened
    and the rough paths made smooth,
⁶and all mankind shall see the salvation of God.’ ”

⁷He admonished the crowds who came out to be baptized by him: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Produce good fruits as proof of your repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. ⁹Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰When the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” ¹¹he said to them in reply, “Anyone who has two coats must share with the person who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.” ¹²Even tax collectors were coming to him to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³He answered them, “Cease collecting more than the amount prescribed.” ¹⁴Some soldiers also asked him, “What about us? What should we do?” He replied, “Do not extort money from anyone, do not falsely accuse or threaten anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵As the people began to experience a feeling of expectancy, they all wondered in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. ¹⁶John answered, telling them all: “I baptize you with water, but there is one coming who is more powerful than I am. I am not worthy to loosen the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” ¹⁸And with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

¹⁹But Herod the tetrarch, after having been rebuked by John because of his affair with Herodias, his brother’s wife, in addition to all the other evil deeds he had done, ²⁰added still this, that he put John in prison.^[j]

²¹The Baptism of Jesus.^[k] After John had baptized all the people, and while Jesus was engaged in prayer after also having been baptized, heaven opened ²²and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.”

²³The Genealogy of Jesus.^[l] When Jesus began his ministry, he was about thirty years old. He was the son, as it was thought, of Joseph,^[m]

the son of Heli, ²⁴the son of Matthat,

the son of Levi, the son of Melchi,

the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

²⁵the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos,

the son of Nahum, the son of Esli,

the son of Naggai, ²⁶the son of Maath,

the son of Mattathias,

the son of Semein, the son of Josech,

the son of Joda, ²⁷the son of Joanan,

the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel,

the son of Shealtiel,

the son of Neri, ²⁸the son of Melchi,

the son of Addi, the son of Cosam,

the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

²⁹the son of Joshua,

the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim,

the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

³⁰the son of Simeon, the son of Judah,

the son of Joseph,

the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

³¹the son of Melea, the son of Menna,

the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan,

the son of David,

³²the son of Jesse, the son of Obed,

the son of Boaz, the son of Sala,

the son of Nahshon, ³³the son of Amminadab,

the son of Admin,

the son of Arni, the son of Hezron,

the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

³⁴the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac,

the son of Abraham,

the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

³⁵the son of Serug, the son of Reu,

the son of Peleg, the son of Eber,

the son of Shelah,

³⁶the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad,

the son of Shem, the son of Noah,

the son of Lamech, ³⁷the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch,

the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel,

the son of Cainan, ³⁸the son of Enos,

the son of Seth, the son of Adam,

the son of God.

Footnotes

Luke 2:1 The Gospel of Jesus’ birth is perhaps the best known passage of the Bible.
The birth of Jesus is described both as parallel to and in contrast with the birth of John. For lack of room in the inn, the young mother looks to a stable for an unobtrusive retreat in which to give birth to her son. Beginning in the 2nd century, the place was said to be a cave close to Bethlehem. She had a manger in which to lay the child.
Apart from Mary and Joseph, there were no relatives or friends present to welcome this child: only a few shepherds, people who lived on the margins of society and whose trade was at that time severely criticized and despised by the teachers of the Law.
The passage is full of grand ideas about faith; we may say also that it is rich in theology. The birth is described as the coming of the Messianic child. We are in Bethlehem, the native city of David who founded a royal and Messianic dynasty and who marked, as it were, a new beginning (1 Sam 16:1f; Mic 5:1). God bursts into the midst of the poor, proclaiming joy and peace for the whole world.
The event went unnoticed by the chroniclers of the age, and yet it changed the destiny of the human race. In order to bring out its universal significance, Luke locates it in relation to the history of the world: Herod the Great (37–4 B.C.) is still in power; Augustus (29 B.C.–A.D. 14) has imposed Roman rule on the entire Mediterranean world, “the entire world” (Greek: oikumenê) known at the time (v. 1). But the general census that Augustus has ordered is the instrument of providence for fulfilling the prophecies, since it leads to Mary’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem (v. 4).
A 6th-century monk, Dionysius Exiguus (“Little Denis”), wanted to mark the beginning of the Christian year, but he miscalculated and dated the birth of Jesus as occurring in the year 754 from the foundation of Rome (instead of 6–7 years earlier). But the mistake is of little importance, for Dionysius’ insight was correct: this event, more than any other, deserves to date the history of humanity, for it is the hinge on which all of history turns.
Luke 2:2 Quirinius: Publius Quirinius, legate of Syria, conducted a census of Palestine in A.D. 6, ten years after the death of Herod the Great. The information we have does not allow us to decide whether Luke is referring to this census or to another.
Luke 2:7 Manger: the legend of the ass and the cattle at the manger was perhaps suggested by Isa 1:3.
Luke 2:14 On whom his favor rests: some read “to men of goodwill,” but it seems better not to contrast God’s peace and human goodwill.
Luke 2:21 This section describes the Jewish rites associated with a birth. In addition to circumcision, forty days after the birth Jewish parents celebrated the rites of purification and ransoming, which in the context of the ancient religion represented a respect for life and a sense of the sacred (see Ex 13:2; Lev 12:2-8; Num 18:15-16). This child, who is bought back with the offering of the poor, is the Messiah and has come to carry out the mission entrusted to the Servant as foretold in the great prophetic songs of Isaiah (42:6; 49:6; 52:10): to save all of humankind, to bring light to all peoples.
Some hearts are already drawn by the joyous conviction that the prophecies are fulfilled, and the hymn of the elderly prophet Simeon is, despite its brevity, among the richest of Christian canticles. But who can recognize the mission of the Messiah unless they accept the light of God? That mission elicits hostility; and Mary will experience the repercussions of the Savior’s painful lot, because faith in the Savior will bring to light the deep religion of hearts and put an end to the legalism of Judaism.
Luke 2:41 In the village where Jesus spends his apprenticeship as a human being and grows “in wisdom and in age and in grace with God and men (v. 52),” this favor of God did not prevent him from sharing the life lived by everyone else. Then a significant event interrupted the course of everyday life.
Jesus had reached the age when a Jewish boy had completed his religious instruction and was beginning to observe the precepts of the Law; he was recognized as religiously mature. Therefore, he joined his parents in the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
In this passage we find him in the temple in open discussion with those charged with teaching the Law. What he has to say reveals an extraordinary religious vision. In acting as he does, he claims a freedom that surprises his parents.
Thus, at his first encounter with Judaism and its religious center, at the moment when he speaks for the first time, Jesus declares himself Son of God and is aware of his own mystery and of his mission. That is what Luke wants to bring out in this story.
Mary and Joseph are now informed of the boy’s uncommon destiny, but the unexpected thunderbolt of Jesus’ statement confuses them; it utters a mystery that is beyond them.
The Lord is not done with surprising even believers, indeed believers first of all! There are days when we must draw inspiration from the attitude of Mary as she meditates on what God has done.
Luke 3:1 The word of God finds expression in the history of humankind. By listing the many temporal rulers and religious authorities, Luke enables us to date John’s activity as occurring between the fall of A.D. 27 and Passover of 28. But he also wants to contrast these earthly rulers and religious authorities with the sovereignty and authority of Jesus. The deeper movement of history does not take place at the level of official appearances; in fact, it is Jesus who is fulfilling the destiny of the world by giving history its true meaning.
Luke sums up in a single passage all the information that he intends to offer on the work of John. More than the other evangelists, he stresses the point that salvation is offered to everyone; in his citation of Isaiah he highlights the final verse, thereby underscoring the thought that the new age is meant for the authentic children of Abraham and not solely for the chosen people. At the end of the passage he immediately jumps ahead to the imprisonment of John, of which Mark and Matthew speak at a later point and at greater length (Mt 14:1-12; Mk 6:14-29). His intention is to make a clear distinction between the Jesus movement and the Johannine movement: when the time of Christ begins, that of John, the forerunner, is finished.
Luke 3:1 Lysanias: an unknown governor. Abilene: a region northeast of Damascus.
Luke 3:2 Caiaphas was the current high priest (A.D. 18–36). Annas, that is, Ananiah, had preceded him from 5 B.C. to A.D. 15. He is named here because he still exercised considerable influence.
Luke 3:20 John’s imprisonment occurred sometime after the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (see Jn 3:22-24). Luke mentions it here to bring his section on John’s ministry to a conclusion before starting his account of that of Jesus (see also Mt 4:12; Mk 1:14). Later he alludes to John’s death (Lk 9:7-9). See also note on Mk 1:14.
Luke 3:21 Jesus here shows himself to be in solidarity with sinners by receiving the bath of repentance. But a unique event also takes place: The Messiah receives his investiture from heaven. The Holy Spirit will be present in him (see Isa 11:2); over him are pronounced the words used in consecrating kings (Ps 2:7), but here they attest that he is the Son of God in a sense hitherto unsuspected (see Lk 1:35).
Luke 3:23 Luke gives a genealogy that is meant not as a historical document but as the assertion of a legal status. Jesus is linked to Joseph, even though it was known that the link was not one of blood; the reason for doing so is that at that time only men and not women had rights. The genealogy then moves back to David, without following the line of kings. From that point it continues again, not only as far as Abraham, but—and this is the chief novelty of the passage—as far as Adam, who comes from the hand of God. Luke’s intention is to stress the point that Jesus belongs not only to the chosen people but to the entire human race, which he has come to save.
Whereas Matthew specifically mentions three groups of 14 generations, Luke lists 77 names, according to a scheme of sevens. From the beginning of the human race until Jesus there are eleven series of seven (11 x 7). Jesus comes as Messiah in the eschatological stage of history (see 4 Esdras 14:11).
Luke 3:23 It may be helpful to record another interpretation of the difference between this genealogy and that of Matthew: in virtue of the law of the levirate, Joseph (it is said) had two fathers, one biological (Jacob), the other legal (Heli); thus two different lists are used as far back as Shealtiel.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)