Study Desk

"And you, my son, will be the one who speaks for the Most High. For you will go before the Lord to make the way ready for Him.

Because the heart of our God is full of loving-kindness for us, a light from heaven will shine on us.

While they were there in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to give birth to her baby.

Her first son was born. She put cloth around Him and laid Him in a place where cattle are fed. There was no room for them in the place where people stay for the night.

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. See! I bring you good news of great joy which is for all people.

There will be something special for you to see. This is the way you will know Him. You will find the Baby with cloth around Him, lying in a place where cattle are fed."

The shepherds went back full of joy. They thanked God for all they had heard and seen. It happened as the angel had told them.

When the days were over for her to be made pure as it was written in the Law of Moses, they took Jesus to Jerusalem to give Him to the Lord.

There was a man in Jerusalem by the name of Simeon. He was a good man and very religious. He was looking for the time when the Jewish nation would be saved. The Holy Spirit was on him.

At that time she came and gave thanks to God. She told the people in Jerusalem about Jesus. They were looking for the One to save them from the punishment of their sins and to set them free.

His parents went to Jerusalem every year for the special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt.

They thought Jesus was with the others of the group. They walked for one day. Then they looked for Him among their family and friends.

When they could not find Jesus, they turned back to Jerusalem to look for Him.

When His parents saw Him, they were surprised. His mother said to Him, "My Son, why have You done this to us? See! Your father and I have had much sorrow looking for You."

He said to them, "Why were you looking for Me? Do you not know that I must be in My Father's house?"

Tiberius Caesar had been ruler for fifteen years. Pontius Pilate was ruler of the country of Judea. Herod was the ruler of the country of Galilee. His brother Philip was the ruler of the countries of Ituraea and Trachonitis. Lysanias was the ruler of the country of Abilene.

He went into all the country around the Jordan River. He preached that people should be baptized because they were sorry for their sins and had turned from them, and they would be forgiven.

The early preacher Isaiah wrote these words: "His voice calls out in the desert. ‘Make the way ready for the Lord. Make the road straight for Him!

Do something to let me see that you have turned from your sins. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you, God can make children for Abraham out of these stones.

The people were looking for something to happen. They were thinking in their hearts about John the Baptist. They wondered if he might be the Christ.