Maria

An Angel Tells about the Birth of Jesus

26 One month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee 27 *with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David. 28 The angel greeted Mary and said, "You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you."

30 Then the angel told Mary, "Don’t be afraid! God is pleased with you, 31 *and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus. 32 *He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him king, as his ancestor David was. 33 He will rule the people of Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end."

The Birth of Jesus

18 *This is how Jesus Christ was born. A young woman named Mary was engaged to Joseph from King David’s family. But before they were married, she learned that she was going to have a baby by God’s Holy Spirit.

Mary’s Song of Praise

46 *Mary said:

With all my heart

I praise the Lord,

47 and I am glad

because of God my Savior.

48 God cares for me,

his humble servant.

From now on,

all people will say

God has blessed me.

49 God All-Powerful has done

great things for me,

and his name is holy.

50 He always shows mercy

to everyone

who worships him.

51 The Lord has used

his powerful arm

to scatter those

who are proud.

52 *God drags strong rulers

from their thrones

and puts humble people

in places of power.

53 God gives the hungry

good things to eat,

and sends the rich away

with nothing.

54 God helps his servant Israel

and is always merciful

to his people.

55 *The Lord made this promise

to our ancestors,

to Abraham and his family

forever!

4 So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David’s hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David’s family.

5 Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, 6 and while they were there, 7 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.

19 But Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant.

34 Then he blessed them and told Mary, "This child of yours will cause many people in Israel to fall and others to stand. The child will be like a warning sign. Many people will reject him, 35 and you, Mary, will suffer as though you had been stabbed by a dagger. But all this will show what people are really thinking."

48 When his parents found him, they were amazed. His mother said, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been very worried, and we have been searching for you!"

49 Jesus answered, "Why did you have to look for me? Didn’t you know that I would be in my Father’s house?"*50 But they did not understand what he meant.

51 Jesus went back to Nazareth with his parents and obeyed them. His mother kept on thinking about all that had happened.

3 When the wine was all gone, Mary said to Jesus, "They don’t have any more wine."

4 Jesus replied, "Mother, my time hasn’t yet come!* You must not tell me what to do."

5 Mary then said to the servants, "Do whatever Jesus tells you to do."

25 Jesus' mother stood beside his cross with her sister and Mary the wife of Clopas. Mary Magdalene was standing there too.*26 When Jesus saw his mother and his favorite disciple with her, he said to his mother, "This man is now your son." 27 Then he said to the disciple, "She is now your mother." From then on, that disciple took her into his own home.

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

31 Jesus' mother and brothers came and stood outside. Then they sent someone with a message for him to come out to them. 32 The crowd sitting around Jesus told him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters* are outside and want to see you."

33 Jesus asked, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers?" 34 Then he looked at the people sitting around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 35 Anyone who obeys God is my brother or sister or mother."

55 Isn’t he the son of the carpenter? Isn’t Mary his mother, and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? 56 Don’t his sisters still live here in our town? How can he do all this?"

14 The apostles often met together and prayed with a single purpose in mind.* The women and Mary the mother of Jesus would meet with them, and so would his brothers.