On the night of the Lord’s birth, glad tidings from heaven revealed that shepherds would find the newborn Savior lying in a manger in Bethlehem. Imagine their confusion when contrasting the glory of heaven to seeing Jesus cradled in a feeding trough. During the ritual presentation of a firstborn son in the Temple, a holy man named Simeon told Mary and Joseph that he recognized Jesus as the awaited Christ. An angel warned Joseph to take the Holy Family to Egypt before Herod could have the Child slain. When, at last, Jesus and His family return

Zechariah, serving in the Temple in his old age, did not believe an angel’s message promising a son. God took away Zechariah’s ability to speak until after he and his wife became parents. Mary and Joseph had faith that she would give birth to the Son of God. They had to trust God over and above Mosaic law, which held that posing as a child’s father would result in God punishing the Israelite nation. Mary went to the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth. The two expectant mothers greeted each other, with Elizabeth exuberantly acknowledging Mary

Jesus referred to John the Baptist as Elijah, not in the literal sense, but in terms of fulfilling the Old Testament. When a group lowered a paralyzed man through the roof to get close to Jesus, our Savior provided both physical and spiritual healing. The Lord does not weigh people down and invites everyone who feels burdened to come to Him. Jesus compared His generation to children playing their flutes and expecting others to respond joyfully or mournfully, depending on the tune. Crowds followed Jesus with hope, while scribes and Pharisees sou

Isaiah envisioned people remaking swords and spears into tools—a peaceful ideal still not realized. A Roman military officer, admittedly unworthy to have Jesus under his roof, asked the Lord to cure his paralyzed servant by just saying the word—a wonderful expression of faith. Jesus worked the miracle. Whether curing one person or multiplying a few loaves and fish to feed a crowd of thousands, Jesus enabled people to see with childlike wonder and give glory to God. Not everyone knew what to make of Jesus’ words, but the faithful must put

When a poor widow donated all that she had to the Temple treasury, her offering looked like a pittance, but Jesus remarked about its great worth as a meaningful sacrifice. The Lord foretold that the richly adorned Temple would become rubble, and people wanted to know when or at least what signs would give them warning. First, Jesus said, believers would face persecution but receive wisdom to defend themselves. Meanwhile, they should take care that everyday anxieties not get in the way of readiness to stand before the Son of Man at any time. Jes

Although bystanders told a blind man to stop calling out, Jesus saw his faith and gave him eyesight. A wealthy tax collector named Zacchaeus planned to get a glimpse of the Lord by climbing a tree but got much more. In a parable, servants received handsome rewards for making profits with money entrusted to them by a nobleman who later became a king. Jesus angrily ransacked a marketplace in the Temple area because it stole glory from God. Some Sadducees trying to debunk belief in resurrection asked whose wife a widow would become if she had seve

When the Apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith, the Lord said that even faith as small as a mustard seed would allow them to work wonders. The Lord came for everyone. Ten lepers realized that Jesus had cured them all, but only one, a Samaritan, returned to give thanks to God. Pharisees asked when the Kingdom of God would come. Jesus said to look around. He warned the Disciples that He would suffer rejection and that impostors would try to mislead people until He came back. In a parable, Jesus described a judge who finally ruled in favor