Anna 36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Comments As

Simeon 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and bl

Jesus Presented at the Temple 2:22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Comments Today’s narrative is forty days after the birth of Jesus.

The Circumcision of Jesus 2:21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Comments In accordance with the God’s mark of the covenant he made with Abram in Genesis 17:12, and made part of the law of Moses at Mount Sinai, Jesus was circumcised and named most likely in the temple. Paul says in Galatians 4:4-5 that Jesus was born under the law to redeem those who were under the law t

The Shepherds See the Christ Child 2:15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them

The Shepherds and the Angels 2:8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And

The Birth of Jesus 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Comments Luke describes Jesus’ birth in simple terms. That Mary had to wrap the swaddling cloths herself around her son shows they were alone in Bethlehem, otherwise another woman would have helped her in the birthing process. That Jesus was l

Joseph and Mary 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. Comments Mary arrived back in Nazareth about four months pregnant. Luke does not tell us the story of how she told Joseph about her meeting with Gabriel and how she was carrying God’s Son. Too bad. What an amazing convers

The Birth of Jesus Christ 2:1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. Comments There is no record outside Luke’s Gospel that Caesar Augustus declared that a world census should be taken. In the province of Egypt, however, there are census records from AD 20 and forward taken every fourteen years.

John the Baptist Grows Up 1:80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. Comments This is all the description we get of John’s life from birth until around age 30. That he grew and became strong in spirit is similar to Luke’s description of Jesus. Luke shows parallels in the lives of these two cousins. John grew up secluded, it appears, in the wilderness, the traditional place of prophets. Th