THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST IN ST MATTHEW
CENTRO ANTI-BLASFEMIA
MATTHEW: 1, 1-2, 23
The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
1 1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the
son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the
father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,
4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of
Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed
by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,
6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of
Solomon by the wife of Uriah,
7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of
Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa,
8 and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of
Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah,
9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of
Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah,
11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of
the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of
Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of
Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor,
14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and
Achim the father of Eliud,
15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan,
and Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus
was born, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen
generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen
generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ
fourteen generations.
The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his
mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together
she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19 and her husband
Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved
to send her away quietly. 20 But as he considered this, behold, an
angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of
David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived
in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21 she will bear a son, and you shall
call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22
All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall
be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke
from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his
wife, 25 but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his
name Jesus.
The Visit of the Wise Men
2 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod
the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 2
"Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his
star in the East, and have come to worship him." 3 When Herod the king
heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and
assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he
inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, "In
Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet:
6 `And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least
among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will
govern my people Israel.'"
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them
what time the star appeared; 8 and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying,
"Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him
bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." 9 When they had
heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had
seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place
where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced
exceedingly with great joy; 11 and going into the house they saw the
child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.
Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and
frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return
to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
The Escape to Egypt
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared
to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother,
and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is
about to search for the child, to destroy him." 14 And he rose and
took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, 15 and
remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what the
Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son."
The Massacre of the Infants
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men,
was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in
Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under,
according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. 17
Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel
weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they
were no more."
The Return from Egypt
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a
dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 20 "Rise, take the child and his
mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's
life are dead." 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother, and
went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus
reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go
there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of
Galilee. 23 And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what
was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a
Nazarene."