Jesus Christ: prophet,
carpenter, mystic,
son of God, savior
and friend; he is known
by many names.
The birth of this beloved
teacher and master
who was born
in Bethlehem marks
the beginning
of the Western calendar;
so important was his
influence on humanity.
The birth of this man
who was one with God is
a sacred event that marks
an entire era.
Jesus made his appearance
on the world’s stage
in the humble manger,
born to the devout Jewish
couple, Joseph and Mary,
who were given signs
of his greatness.
From the Bible, we know
that when Jesus was 12
years old, he stayed
in a temple in Jerusalem
in order to talk with
and ask questions
of the teachers.
The people were amazed
at his understanding.
Some sources say that
Jesus went to India, the land
of spiritual knowledge
since time immemorial,
where he studied
with adept
and wise teachers.
He next enters the Gospel
narrative at about
the age of 30
when he was baptized
by John the Baptist,
an event that marks
the beginning of his brief
public life as a teacher.
Jesus taught God’s love
and forgiveness to all
people with open hearts.
Jesus could discuss
the scriptures with
the erudite and learned
but mostly he told simple
stories, called parables,
that everyone
could understand.
Jesus is especially loved
and remembered
because of his sacrifice.
Three days
after his crucifixion,
he arose
in glory and triumph.
Today we present to you
excerpts of
Jesus Christ’s teachings
as written
in the Gospel of Luke,
Chapters 1-4
in the Holy Bible.
Thank you,
gracious viewers,
for your happy presence
for today’s episode of
Between Master
and Disciples.
Join us again
next Wednesday
for part 2 of excerpts
from the Gospel of Luke,
Chapters 1-4,
in the Holy Bible.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television for
Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home,
coming up next after
Noteworthy News.
God bless,
and farewell for now.
We appreciate your
open-minded company
for today’s episode of
Between Master
and Disciples.
Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home
is up next right after
Noteworthy News
here on
Supreme Master Television.
May God grace you
and your loved ones
with evermore fulfillment
and peace.
Luke 1
Introduction
Many have undertaken
to draw up an account
of the things that have
been fulfilled among us,
just as they were
handed down to us by
those who from the first
were eyewitnesses
and servants of the word.
Therefore, since I myself
have carefully
investigated everything
from the beginning,
it seemed good also
to me to write
an orderly account for you,
most excellent Theophilus,
so that you may know
the certainty of the things
you have been taught.
The Birth of John
the Baptist Foretold
In the time of Herod,
king of Judea, there was
a priest named Zechariah
who belonged to
the priestly division
of Abijah; his wife
Elizabeth was also
a descendant of Aaron.
Both of them were upright
in the sight of God,
observing all the Lord's
commandments and
regulations blamelessly.
But they had no children,
because Elizabeth was
barren; and they were
both well along in years.
Once when Zechariah's
division was on duty and
he was serving as priest
before God,
he was chosen by lot,
according to the custom
of the priesthood,
to go into the temple
of the Lord
and burn incense.
And when the time for
the burning of incense came,
all the assembled
worshipers were
praying outside.
Then an angel of the Lord
appeared to him,
standing at the right side
of the altar of incense.
When Zechariah saw him,
he was startled and
was gripped with fear.
But the angel said to him:
"Do not be afraid,
Zechariah; your prayer
has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth
will bear you a son,
and you are to give him
the name John.
He will be a joy
and delight to you,
and many will rejoice
because of his birth,
for he will be great
in the sight of the Lord.
He is never to take wine
or other fermented drink,
and he will be filled with
the Holy Spirit
even from birth.
Many of the people
of Israel will he bring back
to the Lord their God.
And he will go on
before the Lord,
in the spirit and power
of Elijah, to turn
the hearts of the fathers
to their children
and the disobedient to
the wisdom of the righteous
- to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord."
Zechariah asked the angel,
"How can I be sure of this?
I am an old man
and my wife is well along
in years."
The angel answered,
“I am Gabriel.
I stand in the presence
of God, and I have been
sent to speak to you and
to tell you this good news.”
When his time of service
was completed,
he returned home.
After this, his wife
Elizabeth became pregnant
and for five months
remained in seclusion.
"The Lord has done this
for me," she said.
"In these days
he has shown his favor and
taken away my disgrace
among the people."
The Birth of Jesus
Foretold
In the sixth month,
God sent the angel Gabriel
to Nazareth,
a town in Galilee,
to a virgin pledged
to be married to a man
named Joseph,
a descendant of David.
The virgin's name
was Mary.
The angel went to her
and said, "Greetings, you
who are highly favored!
The Lord is with you."
Mary was greatly troubled
at his words and wondered
what kind of greeting
this might be.
But the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
you have found favor
with God.
You will be with child
and give birth to a son,
and you are to give him
the name Jesus.
He will be great
and will be called
the Son of the Most High.
The Lord God
will give him the throne
of his father David,
and he will reign over
the house of Jacob forever;
his kingdom
will never end."
"How will this be,"
Mary asked the angel,
"since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered,
"The Holy Spirit
will come upon you,
and the power
of the Most High
will overshadow you.
So the holy one to be born
will be called
the Son of God.
Even Elizabeth
your relative is going to
have a child in her old age,
and she who was said
to be barren
is in her sixth month.
For nothing is
impossible with God."
"I am the Lord's servant,"
Mary answered.
"May it be to me
as you have said."
Then the angel left her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
At that time
Mary got ready
and hurried to a town in
the hill country of Judea,
where she entered
Zechariah's home
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard
Mary's greeting, the baby
leaped in her womb, and
Elizabeth was filled with
the Holy Spirit.
In a loud voice
she exclaimed: "Blessed
are you among women,
and blessed is the child
you will bear!
But why am I
so favored, that
the mother of my Lord
should come to me?
As soon as the sound
of your greeting
reached my ears,
the baby in my womb
leaped for joy.
Blessed is she
who has believed
that what the Lord
has said to her
will be accomplished!"
Mary's Song
And Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices
in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state
of his servant.
From now on
all generations
will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has
done great things for me
- holy is his name.
Mary stayed
with Elizabeth
for about three months
and then returned home.
The Birth
of John the Baptist
When it was time
for Elizabeth
to have her baby,
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors
and relatives heard that
the Lord had shown her
great mercy,
and they shared her joy.
On the eighth day
they came
to circumcise the child,
and they were
going to name him
after his father Zechariah,
but his mother spoke up
and said, "No!
He is to be called John."
They said to her,
"There is no one
among your relatives
who has that name."
Then they made signs
to his father, to find out
what he would like
to name the child.
He asked
for a writing tablet, and
to everyone's astonishment
he wrote,
"His name is John."
Immediately
his mouth was opened
and his tongue was loosed,
and he began to speak,
praising God.
The neighbors
were all filled with awe,
and throughout
the hill country of Judea
people were talking about
all these things.
Everyone who heard this
wondered about it,
asking, "What then
is this child going to be?"
For the Lord's hand was
with him.
Zechariah's Song
His father Zechariah was
filled with the Holy Spirit
and prophesied:
"Praise be to the Lord,
the God of Israel,
because he has come and
has redeemed his people.
He has raised up
a horn of salvation for us
in the house
of his servant David
(as he said
through his holy prophets
of long ago),
to show mercy
to our fathers
and to remember
his holy covenant,
the oath he swore
to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from
the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us
to serve him without fear
in holiness and
righteousness before him
all our days.
And you, my child,
will be called a prophet
of the Most High;
for you will go on
before the Lord to
prepare the way for him,
to give his people
the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness
of their sins,
because of the tender
mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun
will come to us
from heaven
to shine on those
living in darkness and
in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet
into the path of peace."
And the child grew and
became strong in spirit;
and he lived in the desert
until he appeared publicly
to Israel.
1.
Luke 2
The Birth of Jesus
In those days
Caesar Augustus
issued a decree that
a census should be taken
of the entire Roman world.
(This was the first census
that took place while
Quirinius was governor
of Syria.)
And everyone went to
his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up
from the town of Nazareth
in Galilee to Judea,
to Bethlehem
the town of David,
because he belonged to
the house and line of David.
He went there
to register with Mary,
who was pledged
to be married to him and
was expecting a child.
While they were there,
the time came
for the baby to be born,
and she gave birth
to her firstborn, a son.
She wrapped him in cloths
and placed him
in a manger, because
there was no room
for them in the inn.
The Shepherds
and the Angels
And there were shepherds
living out in the fields
nearby, keeping watch
over their flocks at night.
An angel of the Lord
appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord
shone around them,
and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them,
"Do not be afraid.
I bring you good news
of great joy that will be
for all the people.
Today in the town
of David a Savior
has been born to you;
he is Christ[a] the Lord.
This will be a sign to you:
You will find a baby
wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company
of the heavenly host
appeared with the angel,
praising God and saying,
"Glory to God
in the highest,
and on earth peace to men
on whom his favor rests."
When the angels
had left them
and gone into heaven,
the shepherds
said to one another,
"Let's go to Bethlehem
and see this thing
that has happened, which
the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and
found Mary and Joseph,
and the baby, who was
lying in the manger.
When they had seen him,
they spread the word
concerning
what had been told them
about this child,
and all who heard it
were amazed at what
the shepherds said to them.
But Mary treasured up
all these things
and pondered them
in her heart.
The shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all the things
they had heard and seen,
which were just
as they had been told.
Jesus Presented
in the Temple
On the eighth day,
when it was time
to circumcise him,
he was named Jesus,
the name the angel
had given him before
he had been conceived.
When the time
of their purification
according to
the Law of Moses
had been completed,
Joseph and Mary
took him to Jerusalem to
present him to the Lord
(as it is written
in the Law of the Lord,
"Every firstborn male
is to be consecrated
to the Lord")
Now there was a man
in Jerusalem called Simeon,
who was righteous
and devout.
He was waiting for
the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit
was upon him.
It had been revealed to him
by the Holy Spirit
that he would not die
before he had seen
the Lord's Christ.
Moved by the Spirit,
he went into
the temple courts.
When the parents
brought in the child Jesus
to do for him
what the custom
of the Law required,
Simeon took him
in his arms
and praised God, saying:
"Sovereign Lord,
as you have promised,
you now dismiss
your servant in peace.
For my eyes
have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared
in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation
to the Gentiles
and for glory
to your people Israel."
The child's father
and mother marveled at
what was said about him.
Then Simeon blessed them
and said to Mary,
his mother:
"This child is destined to
cause the falling and rising
of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that
will be spoken against,
so that the thoughts
of many hearts
will be revealed.
And a sword will pierce
your own soul too."
There was also
a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel,
of the tribe of Asher.
She was very old;
she had lived with
her husband seven years
after her marriage,
and then was a widow
until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple
but worshiped
night and day,
fasting and praying.
Coming up to them
at that very moment,
she gave thanks to God
and spoke about the child
to all who were
looking forward to the
redemption of Jerusalem.
When Joseph and Mary
had done everything
required by
the Law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee
to their own town
of Nazareth.
And the child grew
and became strong;
he was filled with wisdom,
and the grace of God
was upon him.
The Boy Jesus
at the Temple
Every year his parents
went to Jerusalem for
the Feast of the Passover.
When he was
twelve years old,
they went up to the Feast,
according to the custom.
After the Feast was over,
while his parents
were returning home,
the boy Jesus stayed behind
in Jerusalem, but
they were unaware of it.
Thinking he was
in their company,
they traveled on for a day.
Then they began
looking for him among
their relatives and friends.
When they did not find him,
they went back
to Jerusalem
to look for him.
After three days
they found him
in the temple courts,
sitting among the teachers,
listening to them and
asking them questions.
Everyone who heard him
was amazed
at his understanding
and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished.
His mother said to him,
"Son, why have you
treated us like this?
Your father and I
have been anxiously
searching for you."
"Why were you
searching for me?"
he asked.
"Didn't you know
I had to be
in my Father's house?"
But they did not
understand what
he was saying to them.
Then he went down
to Nazareth with them
and was obedient to them.
But his mother
treasured all these things.
in her heart
And Jesus grew
in wisdom and stature,
and in favor with God
and men.
Luke 3
John the Baptist
Prepares the Way
In the fifteenth year
of the reign
of Tiberius Caesar –
when Pontius Pilate was
governor of Judea,
Herod tetrarch of Galilee,
his brother Philip tetrarch
of Iturea and Traconitis,
and Lysanias tetrarch
of Abilene –
during the high priesthood
of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came
to John son of Zechariah
in the desert.
He went into
all the country
around the Jordan, preaching
a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness of sins.
As is written in the book
of the words of Isaiah
the prophet:
"A voice of one
calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way
for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.
Every valley
shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill
made low.
The crooked roads
shall become straight,
the rough ways smooth.
And all mankind will
see God's salvation.' "
John said to the crowds
coming out
to be baptized by him,
Who warned you to flee
from the coming wrath?
Produce fruit
in keeping with repentance.
And do not begin to say
to yourselves,
'We have Abraham
as our father.'
For I tell you
that out of these stones
God can raise up children
for Abraham.”
"What should we do then?"
the crowd asked.
John answered,
"The man with two tunics
should share with him
who has none,
and the one who has food
should do the same."
Tax collectors also
came to be baptized.
"Teacher," they asked,
"what should we do?"
"Don't collect any more
than you are required to,"
he told them.
Then some soldiers
asked him,
"And what should we do?"
He replied,
"Don't extort money and
don't accuse people falsely
- be content with your pay."
The people were
waiting expectantly
and were all wondering
in their hearts
if John might possibly be
the Christ.
John answered them all,
"I baptize you with water.
But one
more powerful than I
will come, the thongs
of whose sandals
I am not worthy to untie.
He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit
and with fire.
His winnowing fork is
in his hand
to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat
into his barn, but
he will burn up the chaff
with unquenchable fire."
And with many other words
John exhorted the people
and preached
the good news to them.
The Baptism
and Genealogy of Jesus
When all the people
were being baptized,
Jesus was baptized too.
And as he was praying,
heaven was opened
and the Holy Spirit
descended on him
in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice
came from heaven:
"You are my Son,
whom I love; with you
I am well pleased."
Now Jesus himself was
about thirty years old
when he began his ministry.
Luke 4
The Temptation of Jesus
Jesus,
full of the Holy Spirit,
returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit
in the desert,
where for forty days
he was tempted
by the devil.
He ate nothing
during those days,
and at the end of them
he was hungry.
The devil said to him,
"If you are the Son of God,
tell this stone
to become bread."
Jesus answered,
"It is written: 'Man does
not live on bread alone."
The devil led him up
to a high place and
showed him in an instant
all the kingdoms
of the world.
And he said to him,
"I will give you all their
authority and splendor,
for it has been given to me,
and I can give it
to anyone I want to.
So if you worship me,
it will all be yours."
Jesus answered,
"It is written:
'Worship the Lord your God
and serve him only."
The devil led him
to Jerusalem and had him
stand on the highest point
of the temple.
"If you are the Son of God,"
he said, "throw yourself
down from here.
For it is written:
" 'He will command
his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
they will lift you up
in their hands,
so that you will not
strike your foot
against a stone.'"
Jesus answered,
"It says: 'Do not put
the Lord your God
to the test."
When the devil had
finished all this tempting,
he left him
until an opportune time.
Jesus Rejected
at Nazareth
Jesus returned to Galilee
in the power of the Spirit,
and news about him
spread through
the whole countryside.
He taught
in their synagogues, and
everyone praised him.
He went to Nazareth,
where he had been
brought up,
and on the Sabbath day
he went into the synagogue,
as was his custom.
And he stood up to read.
The scroll
of the prophet Isaiah
was handed to him.
Unrolling it,
he found the place
where it is written:
"The Spirit of the Lord
is on me, because
he has anointed me
to preach good news
to the poor.
He has sent me
to proclaim freedom
for the prisoners
and recovery of sight
for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year
of the Lord's favor."
Then he rolled up
the scroll, gave it back
to the attendant
and sat down.
The eyes of everyone
in the synagogue
were fastened on him,
and he began
by saying to them,
"Today this scripture is
fulfilled in your hearing."
All spoke well of him
and were amazed
at the gracious words
that came from his lips.
"Isn't this Joseph's son?"
they asked.
Jesus said to them,
"Surely you will quote
this proverb to me:
'Physician, heal yourself!
Do here in your hometown
what we have heard that
you did in Capernaum.' "
"I tell you the truth,"
he continued,
"no prophet is accepted
in his hometown.
I assure you that
there were many widows
in Israel in Elijah's time,
when the sky was shut
for three and a half years
and there was
a severe famine
throughout the land.
Yet Elijah was not sent
to any of them, but
to a widow in Zarephath
in the region of Sidon.
And there were many
in Israel with leprosy
in the time
of Elisha the prophet,
yet not one of them
was cleansed –
only Naaman the Syrian."
All the people
in the synagogue
were furious
when they heard this.
They got up,
drove him out of the town,
and took him to the brow
of the hill on which
the town was built,
in order to
throw him down the cliff.
But he walked
right through the crowd
and went on his way.