Streetlights New Testament - Flipbook - Page 16
M at t h e w 3
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7 Then Herod called for a private meeting
with the wise men, and he learned from them
the time when the star first appeared. 8 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!”
9After 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. 10When they saw the star, they were
filled with joy! 11 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.
12 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.
The Escape to Egypt
13After 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 re
turn, because Herod is going to search for the
child to kill him.”
14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the
child and Mary, his mother, 15 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.”
16 Herod was furious when he realized that
the wise men had outwitted him. He sent sol
diers to kill all the boys in and around Bethle
hem who were two years old and under, based
on the wise men’s report of the star’s first
appearance. 17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled
what God had spoken through the prophet
Jeremiah:
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“A cry was heard in Ramah—
weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
refusing to be comforted,
for they are dead.”
The Return to Nazareth
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord ap
peared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20 “Get
up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his
mother back to the land of Israel, because those
who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21 So Joseph got up and returned to the land
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of Israel with J esus and his mother. 22But when
he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Her
od’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there.
Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for
the region of Galilee. 23So the family went and
lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled
what the prophets had said: “He will be called
a Nazarene.”
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
In those days John the Baptist came to the
Judean wilderness and began preaching.
His message was, 2 “Repent of your sins and
turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is
near.” 3The prophet Isaiah was speaking about
John when he said,
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“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
Clear the road for him!’”
4 John’s clothes were woven from coarse
camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around
his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild
honey. 5People from Jerusalem and from all of
Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to
see and hear John. 6And when they confessed
their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many Phar
isees and
Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he
denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he
exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the com
ing wrath? 8 Prove by the way you live that
you have repented of your sins and turned to
God. 9Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe,
for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That
means nothing, for I tell you, God can create
children of Abraham from these very stones.
10 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised,
ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every
tree that does not produce good fruit will be
chopped down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize with water those who repent of
their sins and turn to God. But someone is com
ing soon who is greater than I a m—so much
greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave
and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 He is ready to
separate the chaff from the wheat with his win
nowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing
area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burn
ing the chaff with n
ever-ending fire.”
The Baptism of Jesus
Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan
River to be baptized by John. 14But John tried
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