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

Zechariah's Prophecy Continued 1:76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Comments There had been no prophets for c

Zechariah's Prophecy (The Benedictus) 1:67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers an

Zechariah's Mouth Opened 1:64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him. Comments Having been obedient to God’s charge to name his son John, Zechariah was finally able to speak for