New Testament Plan

¹Now in those days a decree went out from [the emperor] Caesar Augustus, that all the inhabited world (the Roman Empire) should be registered [in a census].

²This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

³And everyone went to register for the census, each to his own city.

⁴So Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

⁵in order to register with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was with child.

⁶While they were there [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to give birth,

⁷and she gave birth to her Son, her firstborn; and she wrapped Him in [ swaddling] cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no [private] room for them in the inn.

⁸In the same region there were shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone around them, and they were terribly frightened.

¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.

¹¹For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (the Messiah).

¹²And this will be a sign for you [by which you will recognize Him]: you will find a Baby wrapped in [swaddling] cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Then suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host (angelic army) praising God and saying,

¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest [heaven], And on earth peace among men with whom He is well-pleased."

¹⁵When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying one to another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem, and see this [wonderful] thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."

¹⁶So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the Baby as He lay in the manger.

¹⁷And when they had seen this, they made known what had been told them about this Child,

¹⁸and all who heard it were astounded and wondered at what the shepherds told them.

¹⁹But Mary treasured all these things, giving careful thought to them and pondering them in her heart.

²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.

²¹At the end of eight days, when He was to be circumcised, He was named Jesus, the name given [to Him] by the angel [Gabriel] before He was conceived in the womb.

²²And when the time for their purification came [that is, the mother's purification and the baby's dedication] according to the Law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord [set apart as the Firstborn]

²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy [set apart and dedicated] to the Lord)"

²⁴and [they came also] to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord [to be appropriate for a family of modest means], "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout [carefully observing the divine Law], and looking for the Consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

²⁷Prompted by the Spirit, he came into the temple [enclosure]; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him the custom required by the Law,

²⁸Simeon took Him into his arms, and blessed and praised and thanked God, and said,

²⁹"Now, Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to leave [this world] in peace, According to Your word;

³⁰For my eyes have seen Your Salvation,

³¹Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

³²A Light for revelation to the Gentiles [to disclose what was previously unknown], And [to bring] the praise and honor and glory of Your people Israel."

³³And His [legal] father and His mother were amazed at what was said about Him.

³⁴Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, "Listen carefully: this Child is appointed and destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that is to be opposed—

³⁵and a sword [of deep sorrow] will pierce through your own soul—so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

³⁶There was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, and had lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage,

³⁷and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the [area of the] temple, but was serving and worshiping night and day with fastings and prayers.

³⁸She, too, came up at that very moment and began praising and giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all who were looking for the redemption and deliverance of Jerusalem.

³⁹And when they had done everything [in connection with Jesus' birth] according to the Law of the Lord, they went back to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.

⁴⁰And the Child continued to grow and become strong [in spirit], filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor, spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him.

⁴¹Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year for the Passover Feast.

⁴²And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem, according to the custom of the Feast;

⁴³and as they were returning [to Nazareth], after spending the required number of days [at the Feast], the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. Now His parents did not know this,

⁴⁴but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and traveled a day's journey; and [then] they began searching [anxiously] for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

⁴⁵When they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem looking for Him [everywhere].

⁴⁶Three days later they found Him in the [court of the] temple, sitting among the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

⁴⁷All who heard Him were amazed by His intelligence and His understanding and His answers.

⁴⁸When they saw Him, they were overwhelmed; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You treated us like this? Listen, Your father and I have been [greatly distressed and] anxiously looking for You."

⁴⁹And He answered, "Why did you have to look for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father's house?"

⁵⁰But they did not understand what He had said to them.

⁵¹He went down to Nazareth with them, and was continually submissive and obedient to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and men.

¹Now in the fifteenth year of [Emperor] Tiberius Caesar's reign—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod [Antipas] was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene—

²in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas [his son-in-law], the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.

³And he went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin;

⁴as it is written and forever remains written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "The voice of one shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight.

⁵'Every ravine shall be filled up, And every mountain and hill shall be leveled; And the crooked [places] shall be made straight, And the rough roads smooth;

⁶andall mankind shall see the salvation of God.'"

⁷So he began saying to the crowds who were coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath [of God that is] to come?

⁸Therefore produce fruit that is worthy of [and consistent with your] repentance [that is, live changed lives, turn from sin and seek God and His righteousness]. And do not even begin to say to yourselves [as a defense], 'We have Abraham for our father [and so our heritage assures us of salvation]'; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children (descendants) for Abraham [for God can replace the unrepentant, regardless of their heritage, with those who are obedient].

⁹Even now the axe [of God's judgment] is swinging toward the root of the trees; so every tree that does not produce good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire."

¹⁰The crowds asked him, "Then what are we to do?"

¹¹And John replied, "The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do the same."

¹²Even some tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked, "Teacher, what are we to do?"

¹³And he told them, "Collect no more than the fixed amount you have been ordered to [collect]."

¹⁴Some soldiers asked him, "And what about us, what are we to do?" And he replied to them, "Do not extort money from anyone or harass or blackmail anyone, and be satisfied with your wages."

¹⁵Now the people were in a state of expectation, and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

¹⁶John answered them all by saying, "As for me, I baptize you [only] with water; but One who is mightier [more powerful, more noble] than I is coming, and I am not fit to untie the strap of His sandals [even as His slave]. He will baptize you [who truly repent] with the Holy Spirit and [you who remain unrepentant] with fire.

¹⁷His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat (believers) into His barn (kingdom); but He will burn up the chaff (the unrepentant) with unquenchable fire."

¹⁸So with many other appeals and various admonitions John preached the good news (gospel) to the people.

¹⁹But when Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch was repeatedly reprimanded [and convicted by John's disapproval] for having Herodias, his brother's wife [as his own], and for all the wicked things that Herod had done,

²⁰he also added this to them all: he locked up John in prison.

²¹Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, the [visible] heaven was opened,

²²and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, "You are My Son, My Beloved, in You I am well-pleased and delighted!"

²³When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son [by marriage] of Eli,

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 Hesli, 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 Salmon, the son of Nahshon,

³³the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, 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 Heber, 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 Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

¹Now Jesus, full of [and in perfect communication with] the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness

²for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they ended, He was hungry.

³Then the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to turn into bread."

⁴Jesus replied to him, "It is written and forever remains written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'"

⁵Then he led Jesus up [to a high mountain] and displayed before Him all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth [and their magnificence] in the twinkling of an eye.

⁶And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this realm and its glory [its power, its renown]; because it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

⁷Therefore if You worship before me, it will all be Yours."

⁸Jesus replied to him, "It is written and forever remains written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.'"

⁹Then he led Jesus to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle (highest point) of the temple, and said [mockingly] to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here;

¹⁰for it is written and forever remains written, 'He will command His angels concerning You to guard and protect You,'

¹¹and, 'they will lift You up on their hands, So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.'"

¹²Jesus replied to him, "It is said [in Scripture], 'you shall not tempt the Lord your God [to prove Himself to you].'"

¹³When the devil had finished every temptation, he [temporarily] left Him until a more opportune time.

¹⁴Then Jesus went back to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news about Him spread through the entire region.

¹⁵And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised and glorified and honored by all.

¹⁶So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

¹⁷The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

¹⁸"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah), Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),

¹⁹to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly]."

²⁰Then He rolled up the scroll [having stopped in the middle of the verse], gave it back to the attendant and sat down [to teach]; and the eyes of all those in the synagogue were [attentively] fixed on Him.

²¹He began speaking to them: "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and in your presence."

²²And [as He continued on] they all were speaking well of Him, and were in awe and were wondering about the words of grace which were coming from His lips; and they were saying, "Is this not Joseph's son?"

²³So He said to them, "You will no doubt quote this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal Yourself! Whatever [miracles] that we heard were done [by You] in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown as well.'"

²⁴Then He said, "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.

²⁵But in truth I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was closed up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;

²⁶and yet Elijah was not sent [by the Lord] to a single one of them, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

²⁷And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and not one of them was cleansed [by being healed] except Naaman the Syrian."

²⁸As they heard these things [about God's grace to these two Gentiles], the people in the synagogue were filled with a great rage;

²⁹and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to hurl Him down the cliff.

³⁰But passing [miraculously] through the crowd, He went on His way.

³¹Then He came down [from the hills of Nazareth] to Capernaum, a city of Galilee [on the shore of the sea], and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;

³²and they were surprised [almost overwhelmed] at His teaching, because His message was [given] with authority and power and great ability.

³³There was a man in the synagogue who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud and terrible voice,

³⁴"Let us alone! What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!"

³⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent (muzzled, gagged) and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown the man down among them, he came out of him without injuring him in any way.

³⁶They were all astonished and in awe, and began saying to one another, "What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out!"

³⁷And the news about Him spread into every place in the surrounding district (Galilee).

³⁸Then Jesus got up and left the synagogue and went to Simon's (Peter's) house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her.

³⁹Standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and immediately she got up and began serving them [as her guests].

⁴⁰While the sun was setting [marking the end of the Sabbath day], all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them [exhibiting His authority as Messiah].

⁴¹Demons also were coming out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that He was the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed).

⁴²When daybreak came, Jesus left [Simon Peter's house] and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and [they] came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving them.

⁴³But He said, "I must preach [the good news of] the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because I was sent for this purpose."

⁴⁴So He continued preaching in the synagogues of Judea [the country of the Jews, including Galilee].