The circumstances of the birth of Jesus Christ were these. After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they were united in marriage, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

But while he was contemplating this step, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to bring home your wife Mary, for she is with child through the Holy Spirit.

"Mark! The maiden will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call His name Immanuel" --a word which signifies 'God with us'.

but did not live with her until she had given birth to a son. The child's name he called JESUS.

He then directed them to go to Bethlehem, adding, "Go and make careful inquiry about the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and do him homage."

When they were gone, and angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise: take the babe and His mother and escape to Egypt, and remain there till I bring you word. For Herod is about to make search for the child in order to destroy Him."

"Rise from sleep, and take the child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead."

So he roused himself and took the child and His mother and came into the land of Israel.

"Again it is written," replied Jesus, "'Thou shalt not put the Lord thy God to the proof.'"

"Begone, Satan!" Jesus replied; "for it is written, 'To the Lord thy God thou shalt do homage, and to Him alone shalt thou render worship.'"

"You have heard that it was said to the ancients, 'Thou shalt not commit murder', and whoever commits murder will be answerable to the magistrate.

Come to terms without delay with your opponent while you are yet with him on the way to the court; for fear he should obtain judgement from the magistrate against you, and the magistrate should give you in custody to the officer and you be thrown into prison.

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

If therefore your eye, even the right eye, is a snare to you, tear it out and away with it; it is better for you that one member should be destroyed rather than that your whole body should be thrown into Gehenna.

And if your right hand is a snare to you, cut it off and away with it; it is better for you that one member should be destroyed rather than that your whole body should go into Gehenna.

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, 'Thou shalt not swear falsely, but shalt perform thy vows to the Lord.'

"You have heard that it was said, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy.'

Here they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, my child; your sins are pardoned."

Brother will betray brother to death, and father, child; and children will rise against their own parents and will put them to death.

And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted even to Heaven? Even to Hades shalt thou descend. For had the mighty works been done in Sodom which have been done in thee, it would have remained until now.

"'No,' he replied, 'for fear that while collecting the darnel you should at the same time root up the wheat with it.

but you--this is what you say: 'If a man says to his father or mother, That is consecrated, whatever it is, which otherwise you should have received from me--

But Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, "My heart yearns over this mass of people, for it is now the third day that they have been with me and they have nothing to eat. I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they should faint on the road."

So He called a young child to Him, and, bidding him stand in the midst of them,

Whoever therefore shall humble himself as this young child, he it is who is superior to others in the Kingdom of the Heavens.

And whoever for my sake receives one young child such as this, receives me.

Just so it is not the will of your Father in Heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

and was unable to pay. So his master ordered that he and his wife and children and everything that he had should be sold, and payment be made.

"He would not, however, but went and threw him into prison until he should pay what was due.

"So his master, greatly incensed, handed him over to the jailers until he should pay all he owed him.

"Which Commandments?" he asked. Jesus answered, "'Thou shalt not kill;' 'Thou shalt not commit adultery;' 'Thou shalt not steal;' 'Thou shalt not lie in giving evidence;'

Honour thy father and thy mother'; and 'Thou shalt love thy fellow man as much as thyself.'"

"'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God,'" He answered, "'with thy whole heart, thy whole soul, thy whole mind.'

And the second is similar to it: 'Thou shalt love thy fellow man as much as thyself.'

and your boast is, "'If we had lived in the time of our forefathers, we should not have been implicated with them in the murder of the Prophets.'

And alas for the women who at that time are with child or have infants!

"If at that time any one should say to you, 'See, here is the Christ!' or 'Here!' give no credence to it.

If therefore they should say to you, 'See, He is in the Desert!' do not go out there: or 'See, He is indoors in the room!' do not believe it.

But if the man, being a bad servant, should say in his heart, 'My master is a long time in coming,'

and should begin to beat his fellow servants, while he eats and drinks with drunkards;

Your duty then was to deposit my money in some bank, and so when I came I should have got back my property with interest.

So give orders for the sepulchre to be securely guarded till the third day, for fear his disciples should come by night and steal the body, and then tell the people that he has come back to life; and so the last imposture will be more serious than the first."

that "'They may look and look but not see, and listen and listen but not understand, lest perchance they should return and be pardoned.'"

He goes in. "Why all this outcry and loud weeping?" He asks; "the child is asleep, not dead."

To this their reply is a scornful laugh. He, however, puts them all out, takes the child's father and mother and those He has brought with Him, and enters the room where the child lies.

but He gave strict injunctions that the matter should not be made known, and directed them to give her something to eat.

So she went home, and found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Departing thence they passed through Galilee, and He was unwilling that any one should know it;

And taking a young child He made him stand in their midst, then threw His arms round him and said,

"Whoever for my sake receives one such young child as this, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not so much me as Him who sent me."

"You should not have tried to hinder him," replied Jesus, "for there is no one who will use my name to perform a miracle and be able the next minute to speak evil of me.

If your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off: it would be better for you to enter into Life maimed, than remain in possession of both your hands and go away into Gehenna, into the fire which cannot be put out.

Or if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it off: it would be better for you to enter into Life crippled, than remain in possession of both your feet and be thrown into Gehenna.

Or if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out. It would be better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God half-blind than remain in possession of two eyes and be thrown into Gehenna,

Salt is a good thing, but if the salt should become tasteless, what will you use to give it saltness? Have salt within you and live at peace with one another."

In solemn truth I tell you that no one who does not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will by any possibility enter it."

Or should we say, 'human?'" They were afraid of the people; for all agreed in holding John to have been really a Prophet.

"Rabbi," they said, "Moses made it a law for us: 'If a man's brother should die and leave a wife, but no child, the man shall marry the widow and raise up a family for his brother.'

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

"The second is this: 'Thou shalt love thy fellow man as thou lovest thyself.' "Other Commandment greater than these there is none."

And alas for the women who at that time are with child or have infants!

Beware lest He should arrive unexpectedly and find you asleep.

But they said, "Not on the Festival-day, for fear there should be a riot among the people."

Then they crucified Him. This done, they divided His garments among them, drawing lots to decide what each should take.

But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren; and both of them were far advanced in life.

But why is this honour done me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and were going to call him Zechariah, after his father.

All who heard the story treasured it in their memories. "What then will this child be?" they said. For the lord's hand was indeed with him.

And you moreover, O child, shall be called Prophet of the Most High; For you shall go on in front before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,

And the child grew and became strong in character, and lived in the Desert till the time came for him to appear publicly to Israel.

to have himself registered together with Mary, who was betrothed to him and was with child.

And when they saw the child, they told what had been said to them about Him;

To him it had been revealed by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death until he had seen the Lord's Anointed One.

Led by the Spirit he came to the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do with regard to Him according to the custom of the Law,

And while the child's father and mother were wondering at the words of Symeon concerning Him,

Symeon blessed them and said to Mary the mother, "This child is appointed for the falling and the uprising of many in Israel and for a token to be spoken against;

And coming up just at that moment, she gave thanks to God, and spoke about the child to all who were expecting the deliverance of Jerusalem.

And the child grew and became strong and full of wisdom, and the favour of God rested upon Him.

When they saw Him, they were smitten with amazement, and His mother said to Him, "My child, why have you behaved thus to us? Your father and I have been searching for you in anguish."

Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'To the Lord thy God thou shalt do homage, and to Him alone shalt thou render worship.'"

The reply of Jesus was, "It is said, 'Thou shalt not put the Lord they God to the proof.'"

But they were filled with madness, and began to discuss with one another what they should do to Jesus.

Those by the way-side are those who have heard, and then the Devil comes and carries away the Message from their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

He, however, took her by the hand and called aloud, "Child, awake!"

and a man from the crowd called out, "Rabbi, I beg you to pity my son, for he is my only child.

And Jesus, knowing the reasoning that was in their hearts, took a young child and made him stand by His side

and said to them, "Whoever for my sake receives this little child, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives Him who sent me. For the lowliest among you all--he is the greatest."

And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be lifted high as Heaven? Thou shalt be driven down as low as Hades.

"'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God,'" he replied, "'with thy whole heart, thy whole soul, thy whole strength, and thy whole mind; and thy fellow man as much as thyself.'"

But if that servant should say in his heart, 'My Master is a long time in coming,' and should begin to beat the menservants and the maids, and to eat and drink, drinking even to excess;

For when, with your opponent, you are going before the magistrate, on the way take pains to get out of his power; for fear that, if he should drag you before the judge, the judge may hand you over to the officer of the court, and the officer lodge you in prison.

So he said to the gardener, "'See, this is the third year I have come to look for fruit on this fig-tree and cannot find any. Cut it down. Why should so much ground be actually wasted?'

"Yet I must continue my journey to-day and to-morrow and the day following; for it is not conceivable that a Prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.

Then He turned to them and said, "Which of you shall have a child or an ox fall into a well on the Sabbath day, and will not immediately lift him out?"

Also to His host, who had invited Him, He said, "When you give a breakfast or a dinner, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbours, lest perhaps they should invite you in return and a requital be made you.

"Then the steward said within himself, "'What am I to do? For my master is taking away the stewardship from me. I am not strong enough for field labour: to beg, I should be ashamed.

"'Remember, my child,' said Abraham, 'that you had all your good things during your lifetime, and that Lazarus in like manner had his bad things. But, now and here, he is receiving consolation and you are in agony.

"'If they are deaf to Moses and the Prophets,' replied Abraham, 'they would not be led to believe even if some one should rise from the dead.'"

Jesus said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that causes of stumbling should come; but alas for him through whom they come!

It would be well for him if, with a millstone round his neck, he were lying at the bottom of the sea, rather than that he should cause even one of these little ones to fall.