Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 327
1:24–2:17
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When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and
took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until
her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod.
About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem,
asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose,
and we have come to worship him.”
King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone
in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of
religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”
Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he
learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told
them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you
find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they
had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them
and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star,
they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with
his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they
opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and
myrrh.
When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.
After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph
in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel
said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search
for the child to kill him.”
That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother,
and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had
spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”
Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted
him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who
were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s
first appearance. Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken
through the prophet Jeremiah:
