Study Desk

Some of the people standing there heard Jesus and said, "He is calling for Elijah."

It was now the evening before the Sabbath, and the Jewish people were getting ready for that sacred day.

A man named Joseph from Arimathea was brave enough to ask Pilate for the body of Jesus. Joseph was a highly respected member of the Jewish council, and he was also waiting for God's kingdom to come.

On their way, they were asking one another, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance for us?"

The man said, "Don't be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who was nailed to a cross. God has raised him to life, and he isn't here. You can see the place where they put his body.

He will go ahead of the Lord with the same power and spirit that Elijah had. And because of John, parents will be more thoughtful of their children. And people who now disobey God will begin to think as they ought to. That is how John will get people ready for the Lord.

The crowd was waiting for Zechariah and kept wondering why he was staying so long in the temple.

Soon after that, his wife was expecting a baby, and for five months she did not leave the house. She said to herself,

"What the Lord has done for me will keep people from looking down on me."

with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David.

Nothing is impossible for God!"

He cares for me, his humble servant. From now on, all people will say God has blessed me.

God All-Powerful has done great things for me, and his name is holy.

Eight days later they did for the child what the Law of Moses commands. They were going to name him Zechariah, after his father.

Zechariah asked for a writing tablet. Then he wrote, "His name is John." Everyone was amazed.

You, my son, will be called a prophet of God in heaven above. You will go ahead of the Lord to get everything ready for him.

About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books.

she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.

But the angel said, "Don't be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy.

This very day in King David's hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord.