Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today we begin the New Testament with
reading John chapter 1, Luke chapter 1, and Matthew
chapter 1. The Gospel of John, chapter 1. In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. He was in the
beginning with God. All things were made through
Him, and without Him... Nothing was made that
was made. In him was life, and the life was the
light of men. And the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it. There
was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
This man came for a witness, to bear witness
of the light, that all through him might believe.
He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness
of that light. That was the true light, which
gives light to every man coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made through
Him, and the world did not know Him. He came
to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave
the right to become children of God, to those
who believe in His name, who were born not of
blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God. And the Word became
flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. John bore witness of
him and cried out, saying, This was he of whom
I said, He who comes after me is preferred before
me, for he was before me. And of his fullness
we have all received, and grace for grace. For
the law was given through Moses, but grace and
truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen
God at any time, the only begotten Son, who is
in the bosom of the Father. He has declared them.
Now this is the testimony of John when the Jews
sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask
him, Who are you? He confessed and did not deny,
but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they
asked him, What then? Are you Elijah? He said,
I am not. Are you the prophet? And he answered,
No. Then they said to him, Who are you? That
we may give an answer to those who sent us. What
do you say about yourself? He said, I am the
voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight
the way of the Lord. As the prophet Isaiah said,
Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.
And they asked him, saying, Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the
prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize
with water, but there stands one among you whom
you do not know. It is he who coming after me
is preferred before me. whose sandal strap I
am not worthy to loose. These things were done
in Bethabara, beyond the Jordan, where John was
baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming
toward him and said, Behold the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world. This is
he of whom I said, After me comes a man who is
preferred before me, for he was before me. I
did not know him. But that he should be revealed
to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.
And John bore witness, saying, I saw the Spirit
descending from heaven like a dove, and he remained
upon him. I did not know him, but he who sent
me to baptize with water said to me, Upon whom
you see the Spirit descending and remaining on
him, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
And I have seen and testified that this is the
Son of God. Again, The next day, John stood with
two of his disciples, and looking at Jesus as
he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. The
two disciples heard him speak, and they followed
Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following,
said to them, What do you seek? They said to
him, Rabbi, which is to say, when translated,
Teacher. Where are you staying? He said to them,
Come and see. They came and saw where he was
staying, and remained with him that day. Now
it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who
heard John speak and followed him was Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own
brother Simon and said to him, We have found
the Messiah, which is translated the Christ.
And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked
at him, he said, You are Simon, the son of Jonah.
You shall be called Cephas, which is translated
a stone. The following day, Jesus wanted to go
to Galilee, and he found Philip and said to him,
Follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the
city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael
and said to him, We have found him of whom Moses
in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus
of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael
said to him, Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
Philip said to him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael,
coming toward him, and said of him, Behold, an
Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit. Nathanael
said to him, How do you know me? Jesus answered
and said to him, Before Philip called you, when
you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael
answered and said to him, Rabbi, you are the
Son of God, you are the King of Israel. Jesus
answered and said to him, Because I said to you,
I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe?
You will see greater things than these. And he
said to him, Most assuredly I say to you, Hereafter
you shall see heaven open, and the angels of
God ascending and descending upon the Son of
Man. The Gospel of Luke Chapter 1 Inasmuch as
many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative
of those things which have been fulfilled among
us, just as those who from the beginning were
eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word delivered
them to us, It seemed good to me also, having
had perfect understanding of all things from
the very first, to write to you an orderly account,
most excellent Theophilus, that you may know
the certainty of those things in which you were
instructed. There was in the days of Herod the
king of Judea a certain priest named Zacharias,
of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the
daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
And they were both righteous before God. walking
in all the commandments and ordinances of the
Lord blameless. But they had no child, because
Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well
advanced in years. So it was that while he was
serving as priest before God in the order of
his division, according to the custom of the
priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when
he went into the temple of the Lord. And the
whole multitude of the people was praying outside
at the hour of incense. Then an angel of the
Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side
of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw
him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said to him, And you will have
And he will turn many of the children of Israel
to the Lord their God. He will also go before
him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn
the hearts of the fathers to the children and
the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to
make ready a people. prepared for the Lord. And
Zacharias said to the angel, How shall I know
this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well
advanced in years. And the angel answered and
said to him, I am Gabriel, who stands in the
presence of God, and was sent to speak to you
and bring you these glad tidings. But behold,
you will be mute and not able to speak until
the day these things take place, because you
did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled
in their own time. And the people waited for
Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long
in the temple. But when he came out, he could
not speak to them. And they perceived that he
had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned
to them and remained speechless. So it was as
soon as the days of his service were completed
that he departed to his own house. Now after
those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and
she hid herself five months, saying, Thus the
Lord has dealt with me in the days when he looked
on me. to take away my reproach among people.
Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was
sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was
Joseph of the house of David. The virgin's name
was Mary, and having come in, the angel said
to her, Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord
is with you. Blessed are you among women. But
when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying
and considered what manner of greeting this was.
Then the angel said to her, Do not be afraid,
Mary, for you have found favor with God. And
behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring
forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He
will be great and will be called the Son of the
Highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne
of his father David. And he will reign over the
house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there
will be no end. Then Mary said to the angel,
How can this be, since I do not know a man? And
the angel answered and said to her, The Holy
Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Highest will overshadow you. Therefore also that
Holy One who is to be born will be called the
Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative
has also conceived a son in her old age. And
this is now the sixth month for her who was called
barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.
Then Mary said, Behold the maidservant of the
Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.
and the angel departed from her. Now Mary arose
in those days and went into the hill country
with haste to a city of Judah, and entered the
house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And
it happened when Elizabeth heard the greeting
of Mary that the babe leaped in her womb, and
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then
she spoke out with a loud voice, saying, Blessed
are you among women, and blessed is the fruit
of your womb. But why is this granted to me that
the mother of my Lord should come to me? For
indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting
sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb
for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there
will be a fulfillment of those things which were
told her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul
magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced
in God my Savior, for he has regarded the lowly
state of his maidservant. For behold, henceforth
all generations will call me blessed. For he
who is mighty has done great things for me, and
holy is his name, and his mercy is on those who
fear him from generation to generation. He has
shown strength with his arm. He has scattered
the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry
with good things, and the rich he has sent away
empty. He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance
of his mercy. As he spoke to our fathers, to
Abraham, and to his seed forever. And Mary remained
with her about three months, and returned to
her house. Now Elizabeth full time came for her
to be delivered, and she brought forth a son.
When her neighbors and relatives heard how the
Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced
with her. So it was on the eighth day that they
came to circumcise the child, and they would
have called him by the name of his father Zacharias.
His mother answered and said, No, he shall be
called John. But they said to her, There is no
one among your relatives who is called by this
name. So they made signs to his father what he
would have him called. And he asked for a writing
tablet and wrote saying, His name is John. So
they all marveled. Immediately his mouth was
opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising
God. Then fear came on all who dwelt around them.
And all these sayings were discussed throughout
all the hill country of Judea. And all those
who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying,
What kind of child will this be? And the hand
of the Lord was with him. Now his father Zacharias
was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,
saying, Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for
he has visited and redeemed his people, and has
raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house
of his servant David. as he spoke by the mouth
of his holy prophets, who have been since the
world began, that we should be saved from our
enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
to perform the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which
he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that
we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and
righteousness, before him all the days of our
life. A new child will be called the prophet
of the highest, for you will go before the face
of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge
of salvation to his people by the remission of
their sins through the tender mercy of our God,
with which the day spring from on high has visited
us, to give light to those who sit in darkness
and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into
the way of peace. So the child grew and became
strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till
the day of his manifestation, to Israel. The
Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 1 Salmon begot Boaz
by Rahab. Boaz begot Obed by Ruth. Obed begot
Jesse. And Jesse begot David the king. David
the king begot Solomon by her who had been the
wife of Uriah. Solomon begot Rehoboam. Rehoboam
begot Abijah. And Abijah begot Asa. Asa begot
Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat begot Joram. And Joram
begot Uzziah. Uzziah begot Jotham. Jotam begot
Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. Hezekiah begot
Manasseh. Manasseh begot Amun, and Amun begot
Josiah. Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers
about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah
begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel begot Abiud. Abiud begot Eliakim,
and Eliakim begot Azor. Azor begot Zadok. Zadok
begot Akeem. Akeem begot Eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar.
Eleazar begot Matan. And Matan begot Jacob. And
Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom
was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all
the generations from Abraham to David are 14
generations. From David until the captivity in
Babylon are 14 generations. And from the captivity
in Babylon until the Christ are 14 generations.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows.
After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
before they came together, she was found with
child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband,
being a just man and not wanting to make her
a public example, was minded to put her away
secretly. But while he thought about these things,
behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him
in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do
not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife,
for that which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Spirit, and she will bring forth a son,
and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will
save his people from their sins. So all this
was done that it might be fulfilled. which was
spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear
a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,
which is translated God with us. Then Joseph,
being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of
the Lord commanded him, and took to him his wife,
and did not know her till she had brought forth
her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus.
I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as
I did and I look forward to seeing you again
tomorrow to continue on our journey. God bless
you and have a great day.