Historical

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

1 An^(A) account^(B) of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David,^(C) the Son of Abraham:^(D)

From Abraham to David

From David to the Babylonian Exile

From the Exile to the Messiah

¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations; and from David until the exile to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the exile to Babylon until the Messiah, fourteen generations.^(N)

The Nativity of the Messiah

¹⁸ The birth of Jesus Christ came about in this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged^[g] to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit.^{(O) 19} So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man,^(P) and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.^(Q)

²⁰ But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.^{(R) 21} She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus,^(S) because he will save his people from their sins.’^(T)

²² Now all this took place to fulfil what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

which is translated ‘God is with us.’^(U)

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her^{(V) 25} but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son.^[i] And he named him Jesus.^(W)

Wise Men Visit the King

2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem,^{(X) 2} saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?^(Y) For we saw his star at its rising^(Z) and have come to worship him.’^[j]

³ When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes^(AA) of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.

⁵ ‘In Bethlehem of Judea,’ they told him, ‘because this is what was written by the prophet:

⁷ Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.’^[l](AC)

⁹ After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was – the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. ¹¹ Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshipped him.^[m] Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.^{(AD) 12} And being warned^(AE) in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.

The Flight into Egypt

¹³ After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.’^{(AF) 14} So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. ¹⁵ He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my Son.^[n](AG)

The Massacre of the Innocents

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he realised that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.^{(AH) 17} Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

The Return to Nazareth

¹⁹ After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,^{(AJ) 20} saying, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who intended to kill the child are dead.’ ²¹ So he got up, took the child and his mother, and entered the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee.^{(AK) 23} Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfil what was spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.^(AL)

The Herald of the Messiah

3 In those days John the Baptist came,^(AM) preaching in the wilderness of Judea^{(AN) 2} and saying, ‘Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near! ’^{(AO) 3} For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said:

⁴ Now John had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the vicinity of the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶ and they were baptised by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.^(AQ)

⁷ When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees^(AR) coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?^{(AS) 8} Therefore produce fruit^(AT) consistent with^[r] repentance. ⁹ And don’t presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.”^(AU) For I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ The axe is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.^(AV)

¹¹ ‘I baptise you with^[s] water for repentance,^(AW) but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove^[t] his sandals. He himself will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.^{(AX) 12} His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.’^(AY)

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptised by him.^{(AZ) 14} But John tried to stop him, saying, ‘I need to be baptised by you, and yet you come to me? ’

¹⁵ Jesus answered him, ‘Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then John allowed him to be baptised.

¹⁶ When Jesus was baptised, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens^(BA) suddenly opened for him,^[u] and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down onto him.^{(BB) 17} And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.’^(BC)

The Temptation of Jesus

4 Then^(BD) Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.^{(BE) 2} After he had fasted for forty days and forty nights,^(BF) he was hungry. ³ Then the tempter approached him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’^(BG)

⁴ He answered, ‘It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’^(BH)[v]

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city, stood him on the pinnacle of the temple,^{(BI) 6} and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:

⁷ Jesus told him, ‘It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.’^(BL)[x]

⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. ⁹ And he said to him, ‘I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.’^[y]

¹⁰ Then Jesus told him, ‘Go away,^[z] Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’^[aa](BM)

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him.^(BN)

Ministry in Galilee

¹² When he heard that John had been arrested,^(BO) he withdrew into Galilee.^{(BP) 13} He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum^(BQ) by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁷ From then on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, because the kingdom of heaven^(BS) has come near.’

The First Disciples

¹⁸ As^(BT) he was walking along the Sea of Galilee,^(BU) he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter), and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea – for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ ‘Follow me,’ he told them, ‘and I will make you fish for^[ad] people.’ ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

²¹ Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father, preparing their nets, and he called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Teaching, Preaching, and Healing

²³ Now Jesus began to go all over Galilee,^(BV) teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every^[ae] disease and sickness^[af] among the people.^{(BW) 24} Then the news about him spread throughout Syria.^(BX) So they brought to him all those who were afflicted, those suffering from various diseases and intense pains, the demon-possessed, the epileptics, and the paralytics.^(BY) And he healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.^(BZ)