The birth of Jesus Christ took place as follows:--His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but, before the marriage took place, she found herself to be with child by the power of the Holy Spirit.

He had been dwelling upon this, when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary for your wife, for her child has been conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

'Behold! the virgin shall be with child and shall give birth to a son, And they will give him the name Immanuel'--a word which means 'God is with us.'

And, sending them to Bethlehem, he said: "Go and make careful inquiries about the child, and, as soon as you have found him, bring me word, that I, too, may go and do homage to him."

The Astrologers heard what the King had to say, and then continued their journey. And the star which they had seen in the east led them on, until it reached, and stood over, the place where the child was.

Entering the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and fell at his feet and did homage to him. Then they unpacked their treasures, and offered to the child presents of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and said: "Awake, take the child and his mother, and seek refuge in Egypt; and stay there until I bid you return, for Herod is about to search for the child, to put him to death."

Joseph awoke, and taking the child and his mother by night, went into Egypt,

"Awake, take the child and his mother, and go into the Land of Israel, for those who sought to take the child's life are dead."

And he awoke, and taking the child and his mother, went into the Land of Israel.

"Scripture also says," answered Jesus, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'"

Then Jesus said to him: "Begone, Satan! for Scripture says-- 'Thou shalt do homage to the Lord thy God, and worship him only.'"

It is you who are the Salt of the earth; but, if the salt should lose its strength, what will you use to restore its saltiness? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown away, and trampled underfoot.

You have heard that to our ancestors it was said--'Thou shalt not commit murder,' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to answer for it to the Court.'

Be ready to make friends with your opponent, even when you meet him on your way to the court; for fear that he should hand you over to the judge, and the judge to his officer, and you should be thrown into prison.

You have heard that it was said--'Thou shalt not commit adultery.'

Again, you have heard that to our ancestors it was said--'Thou shalt not break an oath, but thou shall keep thine oaths as a debt due to the Lord.'

Nor should you swear by your head, since you cannot make a single hair either white or black.

You have heard that it was said--'Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy.'

You, therefore, should pray thus--'Our Father, who art in Heaven, May thy name be held holy,

Do not give what is sacred to dogs; nor yet throw your pearls before pigs, lest they should trample them under their feet, and then turn and attack you.

And there some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man: "Courage, Child! Your sins are forgiven."

Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and children will turn against their parents, and cause them to be put to death;

At that same time Jesus uttered the words: "I thank thee, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that, though thou has hidden these things from the wise and learned, thou hast revealed them to the child-like!

For the mind of this nation has grown dense, And their ears are dull of hearing, Their eyes also have they closed; Lest some day they should perceive with their eyes, And with their ears they should hear, And in their mind they should understand, and should turn--And I should heal them.'

'No,' said he, 'for fear that, while you are gathering the tares, you should root up the wheat as well.

On leaving that place, Jesus went to the shore of the Sea of Galilee; and then went up the hill, and sat down., you will do what not only what has been done to the fig tree, but, even if you should say to this hill 'Be lifted up and hurled into the sea!' it would be done.

Afterwards Jesus called his disciples to him, and said: "My heart is moved at the sight of all these people, for they have already been with me three days and they have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, for fear that they should break down on the way."

Jesus called a little child to him, and placed it in the middle of them, and then said:

Therefore, any one who will humble himself like this child-- that man shall be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

And any one who, for the sake of my Name, welcomes even one little child like this, is welcoming me.

So, too, it is the will of my Father who is in Heaven that not one of these lowly ones should be lost.

But the other would not, but went and put him in prison till he should pay his debt.

Then his master, in anger, handed him over to the jailers, until he should pay the whole of his debt.

"Why, then," they said, "did Moses direct that a man should 'serve his wife with a notice of separation and divorce her'?"

"What commandments?" asked the man. "These," answered Jesus:-- "'Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not say what is false about others.

Honor thy father and thy mother.' And 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thou dost thyself."

"I tell you," replied Jesus, "if you have faith, without ever a doubt, you will do what not only what has been done to the fig tree, but, even if you should say to this hill 'Be lifted up and hurled into the sea!' it would be done.

"Teacher, Moses said--'Should a man die without children, the man's brother shall become the husband of the widow, and raise a family for his brother.'

His answer was: "'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.'

The second, which is like it, is this--'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thou dost thyself.'

and say 'Had we been living in the days of our ancestors, we should have taken part in their murder of the Prophets!

And alas for the women that are with child, and for those that are nursing infants in those days!

And, at that time, if any one should say to you 'Look! here is the Christ!' or 'Here he is!', do not believe it;

But, should he be a bad servant, and say to himself 'My master is a long time in coming,'

Then you ought to have placed my money in the hands of bankers, and I, on my return, should have received my money, with interest.

"And should this matter come before the Governor," they added, "we will satisfy him, and see that you have nothing to fear."

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man: "Child, your sins are forgiven."

So Jesus told his disciples to keep a small boat close by, for fear the crowd should crush him.

'Though they have eyes, they may see without perceiving; And though they have ears, they may hear without understanding; Lest some day they should turn and be forgiven.'

Nothing is hidden unless it is some day to come to light, nor was anything ever kept hidden but that it should some day come into the light of day.

Before he had finished speaking, some people from the house of the President of the Synagogue came and said: "Your daughter is dead! Why should you trouble the Teacher further?"

"Why this confusion and weeping?" he said on entering. "The little child is not dead; she is asleep."

They began to laugh at him; but he sent them all out, and then, with the child's father and mother and his companions, went into the room where she was lying.

The woman went home, and found the child lying on her bed, and the demon gone.

As they were going down the mountain-side, Jesus cautioned them not to relate what they had seen to any one, till after the Son of Man should have risen again from the dead.

Then Jesus took a little child, and placed it in the middle of them. Folding it in his arms, he said to them:

"Any one who, for the sake of my Name, welcomes even a little child like this is welcoming me, and any one who welcomes me is welcoming not me, but him who sent me as his Messenger."

Salt is good, but, if the salt should lose its saltiness, what will you use to season it? You must have salt in yourselves, and live at peace with one another."

I tell you, unless a man receives the Kingdom of God like a child, he will not enter it at all."

"I tell you that if any one should say to this hill 'Be lifted up and hurled into the sea!', without ever a doubt in his mind, but in the faith that what he says will be done, he would find that it would be.

Should we pay, or should we not pay?" Knowing their hypocrisy, Jesus said to them: "Why are you testing me? Bring me a florin to look at."

"Teacher, in our Scriptures Moses decreed that, should a man's brother die, leaving a widow but no child, the man should take the widow as his wife, and raise up a family for his brother.

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.'

The second is this--'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thou dost love thyself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and children will turn against their parents, and cause them to be put to death;

And alas for the women that are with child, and for those that are nursing infants in those days!

And at that time if any one should say to you 'Look, here is the Christ!' 'Look, there he is!', do not believe it;

Lest he should come suddenly and find you asleep.

Then they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots for them, to settle what each should take.

But they had no child, Elizabeth being barren; and both of them were advanced in years.

And now, you shall be with child and give birth to a son, and you shall give him the name Jesus.

The child shall be great and shall be called 'Son of the Most High,' and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David,

"The Holy Spirit shall descend upon you," answered the angel, "and the Power of the Most High shall overshadow you; and therefore the child will be called 'holy,' and 'Son of God.'

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child moved within her, and Elizabeth herself was filled with the Holy Spirit,

And cried aloud: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is your unborn child!

But how have I this honor, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For, as soon as your greeting reached my ears, the child moved within me with delight!

A week later they met to circumcise the child, and were about to call him 'Zechariah' after his father,

And they made signs to the child's father, to find out what he wished the child to be called.

And all who heard it kept it in mind, asking one another-- "What can this child be destined to become?" For the Power of the Lord was with him.

That we should be rescued from the hands of our enemies,

And should serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness, In his presence all our days.

And thou, Child, shalt be called Prophet of the Most High, For thou shalt go before the Lord to make ready his way,

The child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the Wilds till the time came for his appearance before Israel.

About that time an edict was issued by the Emperor Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole Empire.

And she gave birth to her first child, a son. And because there was no room for them in the inn, she swathed him round and laid him in a manger.

And, when they saw it, they told of all that had been said to them about this child.

Eight days after the birth of the child, when it was time to circumcise him, he received the name Jesus--the name given him by the angel before his conception.

When the period of purification of mother and child, enjoined by the Law of Moses, came to an end, his parents took the child up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ.

Moved by the Spirit, Simeon came into the Temple Courts, and, when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the Law,

Simeon himself took the child in his arms, and blessed God, and said:

While the child's father and mother were wondering at what was said about him,

Simeon gave them his blessing, and said to Mary, the child's mother: "This child is appointed to be the cause of the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign much spoken against--

At that moment she came up, and began publicly to thank God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the deliverance of Jerusalem.

When the child's parents had done everything enjoined by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.

The child grew and became strong and wise, and the blessing of God was upon him.

Every year the child's parents used to go to Jerusalem at the Passover Festival.

His parents were amazed when they saw him, and his mother said to him: "My child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been searching for you in great distress."