Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Good news about the new king

1 Paul, a slave of the Messiah, King Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for God’s good news, ² which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the sacred writings— ³ the good news about his son, who was descended from David’s seed in terms of flesh, ⁴ and who was marked out powerfully as God’s son in terms of the spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead: Jesus, the royal Messiah, our Lord!

⁵ Through him we have received grace and apostleship to bring about believing obedience among all the nations for the sake of his name. ⁶ That includes you, too, who are called by Jesus the Messiah.

⁷ This letter comes to all in Rome who love God, all who are called to be his holy people. Grace and peace to you from God our father, and Messiah Jesus, the Lord.

The birth of Jesus

¹⁸ This was how the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place. His mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph; but before they came together she turned out to be pregnant—by the holy spirit. ¹⁹ Joseph, her husband-to-be, was an upright man. He didn’t want to make a public example of her. So he decided to set the marriage aside privately. ²⁰ But, while he was considering this, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream.

“Joseph, son of David,” said the angel, “don’t be afraid to get married to Mary. The child she is carrying is from the holy spirit. ²¹ She is going to have a son. You are to give him the name Jesus; he is the one who will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this happened so that what the Lord said through the prophet might be fulfilled: ²³ “Look: the virgin is pregnant, and will have a son, and they shall give him the name Emmanuel,”—which means, in translation, “God with us.”

²⁴ When Joseph woke up from his sleep he did what the Lord’s angel had told him to. He married his wife, ²⁵ but he didn’t have sexual relations with her until after the birth of her son. And he gave him the name Jesus.