Jesus Is Born
1In those days, Caesar Augustus made a law. It required that a list be made of everyone in the whole Roman world. 2It was the first time a list was made of the people while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3Everyone went to their own town to be listed.
4So Joseph went also. He went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea. That is where Bethlehem, the town of David, was. Joseph went there because he belonged to the family line of David. 5He went there with Mary to be listed. Mary was engaged to him. She was expecting a baby. 6While Joseph and Mary were there, the time came for the child to be born. 7She gave birth to her first baby. It was a boy. She wrapped him in large strips of cloth. Then she placed him in a manger. That’s because there was no guest room where they could stay.
8There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby. It was night, and they were taking care of their sheep. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them. And the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news. It will bring great joy for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. 12Here is how you will know I am telling you the truth. You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”
13Suddenly a large group of angels from heaven also appeared. They were praising God. They said,
14“May glory be given to God in the highest heaven!
And may peace be given to those he is pleased with on earth!”
15The angels left and went into heaven. Then the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem. Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby. The baby was lying in the manger. 17After the shepherds had seen him, they told everyone. They reported what the angel had said about this child. 18All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. She thought about them over and over. 20The shepherds returned. They gave glory and praise to God. Everything they had seen and heard was just as they had been told.
21When the child was eight days old, he was circumcised. At the same time he was named Jesus. This was the name the angel had given him before his mother became pregnant.
Joseph and Mary Take Jesus to the Temple
22The time came for making Mary “clean” as required by the Law of Moses. So Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem. There they presented him to the Lord. 23In the Law of the Lord it says, “The first boy born in every family must be set apart for the Lord.” (Exodus 13:2,12) 24They also offered a sacrifice. They did it in keeping with the Law, which says, “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” (Leviticus 12:8)
25In Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was a good and godly man. He was waiting for God’s promise to Israel to come true. The Holy Spirit was with him. 26The Spirit had told Simeon that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27The Spirit led him into the temple courtyard. Then Jesus’ parents brought the child in. They came to do for him what the Law required. 28Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God. He said,
29“Lord, you are the King over all.
Now let me, your servant, go in peace.
That is what you promised.
30My eyes have seen your salvation.
31You have prepared it in the sight of all nations.
32It is a light to be given to the Gentiles.
It will be the glory of your people Israel.”
33The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them. He said to Mary, Jesus’ mother, “This child is going to cause many people in Israel to fall and to rise. God has sent him. But many will speak against him. 35The thoughts of many hearts will be known. A sword will wound your own soul too.”
36There was also a prophet named Anna. She was the daughter of Penuel from the tribe of Asher. Anna was very old. After getting married, she lived with her husband seven years. 37Then she was a widow until she was 84. She never left the temple. She worshiped night and day, praying and going without food. 38Anna came up to Jesus’ family at that moment. She gave thanks to God. And she spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the time when Jerusalem would be set free.
39Joseph and Mary did everything the Law of the Lord required. Then they returned to Galilee. They went to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong. He was very wise. He was blessed by God’s grace.
The Boy Jesus at the Temple
41Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. 42When Jesus was 12 years old, they went up to the feast as usual. 43After the feast was over, his parents left to go back home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But they were not aware of it. 44They thought he was somewhere in their group. So they traveled on for a day. Then they began to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45They did not find him. So they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46After three days they found him in the temple courtyard. He was sitting with the teachers. He was listening to them and asking them questions. 47Everyone who heard him was amazed at how much he understood. They also were amazed at his answers. 48When his parents saw him, they were amazed. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been worried about you. We have been looking for you everywhere.”
49“Why were you looking for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50But they did not understand what he meant by that.
51Then he went back to Nazareth with them, and he obeyed them. But his mother kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. 52Jesus became wiser and stronger. He also became more and more pleasing to God and to people.
Ježíšovo narození v Betlémě
1V té době nařídil císař Augustus, aby bylo provedeno sčítání lidu v celé římské říši. 2Byl to první soupis a prováděl ho římský místodržitel v Sýrii Quirinius. 3Každý byl povinen dát se zapsat v místě, odkud pocházel jeho rod. 4-5Tak se vydal na cestu i Josef s Marií, která byla již ve vysokém stupni těhotenství. Putovali z galilejského Nazaretu do judského městečka Betléma, rodiště krále Davida; Josef totiž pocházel z jeho rodu. 6Sotva tam došli, naplnil se Mariin čas 7a porodila svého prvorozeného syna. Zabalila ho do plenek a položila do jeslí, protože v hostinci bylo plno a jinde než ve chlévě už na ně nezbylo místo.
Pastýři navštěvují Ježíše
8Nedaleko Betléma pásli pastýři ovce. V noci se střídali v hlídkách u svých stád. 9Najednou se před nimi objevil anděl a celá krajina se rozzářila odleskem Boží slávy. Velice se ho ulekli, 10ale anděl je uklidňoval: „Nebojte se, nesu vám dobrou zprávu, ze které se mohou radovat všichni lidé. 11V Betlémě, ze kterého před dávnými časy vyšel David, se vám dnes narodil Kristus, Spasitel poslaný od Boha. 12Jak ho poznáte? Najdete malé dítě v plenkách, položené do jeslí v chlévě.“ 13Potom se k andělu připojilo mnoho dalších andělů a všichni provolávali:
14„Sláva Bohu na nebi!
Pokoj lidem na zemi! Zjevil lásku všem!“
15Andělé je opustili a pastýři si řekli: „Pojďme do Betléma a přesvědčme se o tom, co nám anděl oznámil.“ 16Rychle se vydali na cestu a skutečně našli Marii s Josefem i novorozeňátko položené v jeslích. 17Když je uviděli, začali vyprávět, co jim bylo pověděno o tom dítěti. 18Všichni, kdo je slyšeli, se divili. 19Marie si to zapamatovala a přemýšlela o tom. 20Pastýři se vrátili ke svým stádům, radovali se a děkovali Bohu, že našli všechno tak, jak jim anděl oznámil.
Marie s Josefem přinášejí Ježíše do chrámu
21Osmý den dali Marie s Josefem chlapce obřezat. Dostal jméno Ježíš, jak to anděl určil ještě před jeho narozením. 22-23Mojžíšův zákon přikazoval, aby každá žena čtyřicátý den po narození chlapce přinesla oběť do chrámu. 24Proto i Marie po této době splnila tuto povinnost. Zároveň s sebou vzali i dítě, aby ho podle jiného Mojžíšova předpisu jako prvorozeného syna zasvětili Bohu. 25V Jeruzalémě žil zbožný stařec jménem Simeon. Řídil se Božími přikázáními a očekával Mesiáše. 26Byl veden Duchem svatým, který ho také ujistil, že nezemře dříve, dokud Mesiáše na vlastní oči neuzří. 27Na pokyn Ducha přišel do chrámu právě ve chvíli, kdy rodiče zasvěcovali Ježíše Bohu. 28Simeon vzal dítě do náruče a modlil se:
29„Pane, děkuji ti, že jsi splnil svůj slib.
Nyní mohu klidně zemřít,
30protože jsem na vlastní oči viděl Spasitele,
31kterého dáváš celému světu.
32Pohanům bude světlem a Izraeli slávou.“
33Josef a Marie se podivili tomu, co Simeon pověděl o dítěti. 34Potom jim požehnal a Marii ještě řekl: „Toto dítě bude příčinou pádu jedněch a vyvýšení druhých v Izraeli. On je znamení z nebe, proti kterému se mnozí postaví a tak prozradí svoje nejvnitřnější smýšlení. 35Tvé vlastní srdce pronikne bolest jako meč.“ 36-37Byla tam také prorokyně Anna, dcera Fanuelova z rodu Ašerova. Po sedmiletém manželství ovdověla a nyní jí bylo čtyřiaosmdesát let. Nevycházela už vůbec z chrámu a její dny i noci byly naplněny službou Bohu, modlitbami a častými posty. 38V tu chvíli k nim přistoupila i ona a děkovala za to dítě. Všem, kteří v Jeruzalémě vyhlíželi Spasitele, oznamovala, že očekávaný Mesiáš je již zde. 39A tak Josef s Marií splnili, co přikazoval zákon. Později se vrátili do Nazaretu v Galileji. 40Dítě rostlo, sílilo a bylo velice moudré. Všichni mohli poznat, že ho Bůh miluje.
Ježíš rozmlouvá s náboženskými učiteli
41Ježíšovi rodiče putovali každý rok do Jeruzaléma slavit velikonoční svátky. 42Když bylo Ježíšovi dvanáct let, vzali ho poprvé s sebou. 43Po slavnosti se všichni vydali na cestu domů, ale Ježíš zůstal bez vědomí rodičů v Jeruzalémě. 44Ti ho zpočátku ani nepohřešovali. Domnívali se, že zůstal někde vzadu mezi poutníky, kteří s nimi měli stejnou cestu. Protože se však celý den neukázal, sháněli ho mezi příbuznými a známými. 45Když ho nenašli, vrátili se do Jeruzaléma a hledali ho tam. 46Po třech dnech ho objevili v chrámu, jak sedí mezi učiteli zákona, naslouchá jim a hovoří k nim. 47Všichni, kdo ho slyšeli, žasli nad moudrostí, se kterou odpovídal na otázky. 48Rodiče tím byli překvapeni a matka mu vyčítala: „Chlapče, proč nám děláš takové starosti? Otec a já jsme tě hledali celí zoufalí.“ 49Ježíš jim odpověděl: „Proč jste mne hledali? Cožpak nevíte, že musím být tam, kde se jedná o záležitosti mého Otce?“ 50Ale oni nepochopili, co tím mínil. 51Ježíš se pak s rodiči vrátil do Nazaretu a poslouchal je. Jeho matka si všechny takové události dobře zapamatovala. 52S Ježíšovým věkem rostla i jeho moudrost a byl milý Bohu i lidem.
