Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, Amon fathered Josiah,

From the Exile to the Messiah

After the exile to Babylon Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel,

Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob,

and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus who is called the Messiah.

So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations; and from David until the exile to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the exile to Babylon until the Messiah, fourteen generations.

The Nativity of the Messiah

The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit.

So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.

But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her

Wise Men Visit the King

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.

And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”

Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared.

He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”

Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The Flight into Egypt

After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt.

He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my Son.

The Massacre of the Innocents

Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.

A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.

saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who intended to kill the child are dead.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother, and entered the land of Israel.

The Herald of the Messiah

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea

For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight!

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?