Crippled Man Healed

225 – A Crippled Man Healed

Acts 3:1-4:31

One afternoon, Peter and John went to the temple at the time of prayer. There they saw a man begging who had been crippled since he was born. Every day people carried him to a gate called Beautiful so he could beg money from those going into the temple.

Peter stopped in front of the man and said, “Look at me.”

The man looked at him, expecting to get some money. Peter said, “I don’t have money to give you, but I have something better. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, get up and walk.”

As Peter and John helped the man up, his feet and legs became strong. He stood by himself and then he walked. He even jumped for joy while praising God!

People saw the man walking, and recognized him as the one who was crippled and sat begging at the gate. They gathered around the three men.

Peter said, “This man was healed by the name of Jesus, the one you told Pilate to crucify. You killed Jesus, but God raised him from the dead. We’ve seen him and can tell you—he’s alive.

“Look at this man. He’s standing by the power of Jesus. Turn from your sin and accept Jesus as your Messiah. God will forgive your sins.”

The Jewish rulers found out that Peter and John were preaching to the people, so they sent guards who put the two disciples in prison. Still, many people became followers of Christ. The number of believers increased to over 5,000.

The next morning, the high priest sent for the two men, so they could stand before the council.

The religious leaders asked, “Who gave you the authority to preach to the people?”

The Holy Spirit guided Peter as he answered. “This man was healed by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth—the one you killed on a cross. God raised him from the dead, and he’s the only way of salvation.”

The rulers were amazed at the confidence of Peter and John. Since the two men didn’t have a formal education, they knew their boldness came from being with Jesus.

The council couldn’t say anything about the miracle because the crippled man was standing in front of them. They could see he was healed.

They decided to threaten the disciples and demand that they stop teaching about Jesus. Peter and John didn’t hesitate to answer. “You’re asking us to disobey God so we can obey you. That’s impossible! We know what we’ve seen and heard.”

The leaders eventually released Peter and John. The two men went back to the fellowship of believers and told them what had happened. Everyone rejoiced together. Suddenly the building started to shake, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. With this, they had new boldness to tell others about God’s message.

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Story Board

Story Told

Insights

Audio

Story Board

Commission and Ascension

223 – Commission and Ascension

Matthew 28:16-20, Luke 24:47-53, John 20:30-31, Acts 1:1-26, I Corinthians 15:6

The disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had first selected them to be his disciples. He suddenly appeared and they worshiped Him. He said, “I give you authority to preach. Go to all the nations and make disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teach them what I have taught you. Remember, I’m always with you.”

For 40 days after He rose from the dead, Jesus spent time with his disciples teaching them things about the kingdom of God. He also appeared to many others, once to a crowd of over 500 people.

He then led his disciples to the Mount of Olives. He said, “Don’t leave Jerusalem until you receive the promise from the Father. John baptized with water, but now you’ll be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

They said, “Lord, is now the time you’re going to make Israel into a kingdom again?”

Jesus said, “Only the Father knows when that will happen. Meanwhile, you’re to spread the good news that people can receive forgiveness of sins.”

“Wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes upon you. He’ll give you power to spread this good news. Start in Jerusalem and then take it to the entire nation. Include Samaria. Finally, go to the entire world.”

Jesus then blessed them. As he did, he suddenly moved upward and disappeared in a cloud. The disciples stood there looking up.

Two men, dressed in white, appeared next to them. They said, “Why are you standing there looking into the sky? You saw Jesus go up. He’ll come back in the same way.”

So the disciples went back into Jerusalem. Their hearts overflowed with joy! They met in an upper room with other believers, both men and women. Mary, the mother of Jesus was there, as well as his brothers. All of the believers were of one mind and spent this time in prayer.

At one point, Peter stood and talked to the group. He said, “Judas fulfilled Scripture when he led the mob into the garden and betrayed Jesus. Judas was one of us, and had all the privileges of this ministry. Yet he sold it all for a price. With that money he bought a field, and today it is called ‘Field of Blood.’ ”

“Still, we need someone to take his place among the apostles. Let’s choose a man, but make sure he has been with us since Jesus was baptized by John. The person we choose must have seen all the miracles until the Lord was taken from us into heaven. With us, he will testify to the resurrection of Christ.”

Two men were selected for final consideration. The people prayed and then threw lots to make the final decision. Matthias was chosen.

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Drama
Story Board
Map

Story Told

Story Telling and Questions by Mickie O’Donnell

Insights

Audio

Drama

D223-Commission-Ascension-Waiting

Story Board

Map

Life-of-Jesus-7-Post-Resurrection

Resurrection

220 – The Resurrection

Matthew 27:62-28:15, Mark 16:1-8, John 20:1-18, Luke 24:1-12

All was quiet at the tomb of Jesus until early Sunday morning while it was still dark. Suddenly there was an earthquake and an angel appeared at the gravesite. He rolled back the huge stone and sat on it! The guards were terrified and fainted. And then … all was quiet once again.

As the sun came up, Mary Magdalene and some other women walked into the garden so they could put spices on the body of Jesus. They were wondering how they were going to get someone to roll back the stone from the tomb.

When they came to the tomb, they realized the soldiers were gone and the stone was rolled back. They looked, and saw that the tomb was empty!

Mary turned and ran to tell the disciples about the empty tomb. The other women stayed in the garden. Finally, they went inside the tomb. They saw two angels. One of the angels said, “Don’t be afraid! You’re looking for Jesus who was crucified. He’s not here, because he has risen. Go tell his disciples and Peter.” So the women went to do as they were told.

Meanwhile, Mary found the disciples and told them, “They’ve taken the body of Jesus and we don’t know where it is!”

When Peter and John heard this, they ran to the tomb. John got there first, but didn’t go in. Peter rushed in, and John followed. They saw the strips of cloth that had been wrapped around the body of Jesus, but the body was missing. They left the tomb and walked home, confused about what had happened.

After they were gone, Mary Magdalene arrived back at the garden, weeping as she walked.

When she got to the tomb, she saw the angels. One of them said, “Why are you crying?”

“Because they have taken away my Lord and I don’t know where he is.”

She turned and saw a man standing near her. She didn’t realize it was Jesus. She thought it was the gardener. “Sir, if you have taken him away, please tell me where he is so I can go get him.”

Jesus said, “Mary!”

Instantly, she knew who it was! She fell down and grabbed his feet, “My Master!”

He said, “Don’t hold me, but go tell my disciples that you have seen me.” Immediately she got up and ran to find the disciples.

Jesus then appeared to the other women as they were walking back into the city. They fell down and worshiped him. He said, “Go find my brothers and tell them that I’ll meet them in Galilee.”

All the women found the disciples and said, “Jesus is alive! We have seen him and talked to him. He’s alive!” The men were overcome, and could not believe it was really true.

The guards who were at the tomb were terrified by the events of that morning. They went and told the religious leaders exactly what happened. After some discussion, the high priest gave the guards a large amount of money and said, “Tell people that the disciples of Jesus came and stole his body while you were sleeping. We will make sure you don’t get in trouble with Pilate.” The guards took the money and did as they were told.

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Song
Story Board
Photo
Map

Story Told

Storyteller Phyllis Hostmeyer

Story Telling and Questions by Mickie O’Donnell

Storyteller Lori Stricklan, 2019 BT Seminar, at the Garden Tomb

Insights

Audio

Song

Story Board

Photo

Garden-Tomb-2

The Garden Tomb, from the Photo Companion to the Bible, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

Map

Life-of-Jesus-6-Final-Week

Last Week of Ministry

214 – Last Week of Ministry

Mark 11:12-25 12:1-12

During the last week before Passover, Jesus spent each day in Jerusalem while staying overnight in a town nearby. As he and his disciples walked toward the city on the second morning, Jesus saw a fig tree in the distance. He walked up to it but there was no fruit on the tree, just leaves. So he said to the tree, “You’ll never produce fruit again.”

When they arrived at the temple, Jesus saw people selling animals for sacrifice and exchanging foreign money. He threw them out, and turned over their tables.

He then sat down and said to the people, “The Scriptures say, ‘My house is to be known as a house of prayer.’ You’ve made it a den of thieves.” This made the religious leaders angry. They talked of killing him because he was becoming so popular.

The next morning, the disciples noticed the fig tree. “Teacher, look! The tree is all shriveled up!”

Jesus said, “Have faith in God, and you’ll do more than this. You can say to a mountain, ‘Throw yourself into the sea,’ and it’ll happen. But you must believe it will, without doubt in your heart. Also, you can’t hold a grudge against someone else.”

Jesus continued to teach the people in the temple. One day he said, “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it. He then went on a long trip, but before he left, he hired some men to care for his vineyard.

“When it was time for harvest, he sent a servant to collect his fruit. The men beat the servant and sent him away empty. The owner sent other servants, but they were all treated the same way. They even killed a few.

“Finally the owner said, ‘I need to send someone with authority so they’ll listen to him. Therefore, I’ll send my only son.’

“When the men saw the son, they said, ‘If we kill him, we’ll inherit everything!’ So they grabbed him, killed him, and threw him outside the vineyard.”

Jesus said, “What do you think the owner will do to these men?”

The people were quick to answer. “He’ll kill those men! He’ll then give the vineyard to people he can trust.”

The religious leaders knew this story was about them. They agreed that Jesus had to be arrested soon, but they didn’t know when and where. It had to be done carefully because they were afraid of the crowd.

Later, Jesus looked across the temple complex at the treasury. He watched the crowd dropping money into the treasury, especially the rich people who were putting in large amounts. Suddenly a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth less than a cent.

Jesus called his disciples around him and said, “Listen to me. That poor widow has put more in to the temple treasury than all those other people. They gave a little out of all they have. But she is extremely poor. What she gave was all she has. She gave the only money she has to live on.”

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Diagram
Map
Poems

Story Told

Story Telling and Questions by Mickie O’Donnell

Insights

Audio

Diagram

Tabernacle-Temple

Map

Life-of-Jesus-6-Final-Week

Poems

P214-Authority-Questioned

P214-Story-of-the-Renters

Forgiving Sins

188 – Forgiving Sins

Mark 2:1-12 Matthew 9:9-13

Jesus went into a house to teach. As soon as word got around, the house filled up with people. Among them were Pharisees and teachers of the Law. The crowd went out through the doorway, with people standing outside.

Four men came, carrying a paralyzed man on a cot. They quickly realized they had no way of getting close to Jesus. So they carried the man and his cot up the outside stairs onto the roof. There, they made an opening by removing the tiles. When it was big enough, they lowered the man into the middle of the crowd and in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw the faith of the four men, he turned to the man on the cot, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

The religious rulers were shocked when they heard this. They thought, “How dare he say that! This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins.”

Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said, “Why are you so troubled? It would’ve been easy for me to say, ‘Get up and walk.’ But you needed to know that the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins.”

He then said to the man, “Get up! Pick up your cot, and go home.”

Immediately the man got up, picked up his cot, and walked out in front of everyone. People were amazed and glorified God. They said, “We’ve never seen anything like this before.”

After that, Jesus left the house and walked toward the seashore. Along the way, he saw a tax collector named Matthew sitting at a tax booth. The Jewish people hated tax collectors and said they were traitors to Israel.

Jesus stopped and said to him, “Matthew, follow me.” Immediately, the man left everything and followed Jesus.

Soon afterwards, he hosted a reception for Jesus in his house. He invited many other tax collectors. They came as well as other people of low reputation.

The religious leaders were appalled! They said to his disciples, “Why is your Master eating with tax collectors and sinners?”

Jesus heard this, so he answered them. “Doctors are for sick people, not for those who are well. I haven’t come to work with people who think they are righteousness. I’ve come to bring repentance to sinners.”

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Poem
Story Board
Song
Photos
Video
Drama

Story Told

Insights

Audio

Poem

P188-Through-the-Roof

Story Board

Song

Photos

Capernaum-basalt-houses-tb102602007

Basalt houses in Capernaum, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

Aerial view of Capernaum ruins with synagogue ruins in foreground, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

Video

Drama

Fishing for People

186 – Fishing for People

Matthew 8:1-4, 14-17 Mark 1:21-45, Luke 4:31-44 Luke 5:1-11

Jesus went to the synagogue in Capernaum. A demon-possessed man yelled at him, “Go away! Leave me alone! I know who you are! You’re the Holy One of God.”

Jesus said, “Don’t talk! Come out of him.”

The demon threw the man onto the floor. He screamed as the demon left his body. The crowd was shocked. They had never seen such authority and power.

Afterwards, Jesus went to the home of Peter and Andrew. Peter’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. The family asked Jesus to heal her. So, he touched her hand and said to the fever, “Leave this woman!”

Taking her hand he said, “Please, get up.” Immediately the fever left her, and she got up. She was totally recovered, so she started serving the guests in her house.

By evening, almost the entire town was at the house. Jesus taught the people, healed the sick, and cast out demons.

The next morning, he got up before sunrise and went to a place where he could be alone. There he prayed and talked to his Father.

When the people of the town woke up, they started searching for Jesus, and finally found him. He told them he was going to visit the other towns in the area. They begged him to stay with them, but he said, “No, I need to preach the kingdom of God in other cities as well.” He then traveled throughout Galilee, teaching the people, healing the sick, and casting out demons.

At one point, a man with leprosy came and knelt down before Jesus and begged him, “If you are willing, you could heal me.”

Jesus looked at him with compassion. “Yes, I am willing. Be clean!” Instantly the disease of leprosy left the man and he was healed.

Jesus then gave him definite instructions. “Listen to me. Don’t tell anyone about what just happened. Instead, go immediately to the priest and give the offering as instructed by Moses. That is how you are to give testimony of your healing.”

But, the man was so excited that he started telling everyone about what happened – so much so – Jesus could no longer enter any of the towns. Instead, he went to other areas and allowed people to come to him.

One day he went to the shores of the Sea of Galilee to teach the people. There were two fishing boats on the shore, and the fishermen were washing their nets nearby. Jesus got into the boat that was owned by Simon Peter and asked him to push off a little from shore. Once this was done, he sat down and taught the people.

After he finished, he said to Peter, “Go into deeper water and let out the nets.”

Peter said, “Lord, we fished all night and didn’t catch anything. Still, if that’s what you want, I’ll cast out a net.”

He then took the boat into deeper water. When he cast out his net, he immediately caught a large school of fish—so many fish that the net started to rip apart. Peter yelled to his partners, “James, John!” They rushed out and helped gather in the fish. They filled both boats … until they were in danger of sinking.

Peter was totally overcome by this miracle. He fell to his knees and said to Jesus, “Go away! I’m a sinful man!”

Jesus said, “Simon, don’t be afraid. In the past you caught fish. From now on, you’ll catch people.”

The fishermen brought their boats to shore, where they left everything and followed Jesus.

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Song
Drama
Story Board
Video

Story Told

Insights

Audio

Song

Drama

D186-Fishing-for-People

Story Board

Video

Storyteller: Donna Wagner at the “Eye of God” cave at the Sea of Galilee (a possible retreat location where Jesus wen to pray), March 2019

Water to Wine

182 – Water to Wine

John 1:35-51, John 2:1-11

One day, John saw Jesus walking past. He turned to his own disciples and said, “Look, there’s the Lamb of God.” Two of John’s disciples immediately started following Jesus and spent the entire day with him. One of them was a man named Andrew. He went to his brother and said, “Simon, we have found the Messiah!”

His brother was curious, so he went to see for himself. As soon as Jesus saw him, he said, “Your name is Simon, but from now on you’ll be known as Peter.”

The next day, Jesus found a man by the name of Phillip, and said to him, “Follow me!”

Phillip went and found his friend Nathanael. “We’ve found the one that Moses and all the prophets talked about. His name is Jesus, who is from Nazareth.”

Nathanael was surprised. “Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

“Come and see for yourself.”

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming, he said, “Here comes a true Israelite—an honest man— one who has no pretense.

Again Nathanael was surprised. “How do you know me?”

“Ah, I saw you before Phillip talked to you— when you were still under the fig tree.”

For the third time, Nathanael was surprised. Then he said, “You are the Son of God, the true King of Israel.”

Jesus said. “Nathanael, you believe because I said I saw you under the fig tree. You’re going to see greater things than this!”

It was during this time that Jesus and his disciples were invited to join his mother and attend a wedding at Cana. Later in the day, Mary came to Jesus and said, “They’ve run out of wine.”

He looked at her and said, “Why are you bringing this situation to me? You know it isn’t my time yet.”

She turned to the servants. “Do whatever he tells you to do.”

They looked at him waiting for his instructions. He saw six large stone water pots standing nearby. Each could hold about 20 gallons of water.

He said to the servants, “Fill those pots with water.”

They quickly filled all six pots full of water, right to the brim. Once that was done, they looked at Jesus. He said, “Now draw some out and take it to the manager of the feast.”

The servants did as they were told. The manager of the feast didn’t know where this wine had come from, so he tasted it. To his surprise, it was better than any they had served that day! He went to the bridegroom and said, “Where have you been hiding this? Usually the best wine is served at the beginning of the feast. Then, as the day goes by, the lesser quality is served. You have saved the best until now.”

This was the first miracle that Jesus performed.

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Drama
Story Board
Map

Story Told

Insights

Audio

Drama

D182-Wedding-in-Cana

Story Board

Map

Life-of-Jesus-2-Early-Ministry

Baptism and Temptation

181 – Baptism and Temptation

Matthew 3:1-17 4:1-11 Mark 1:9-13 Luke 3:21-22 4:1-13 John 1:19-34

When John became a man, God led him into the wilderness. He wore clothes made of camel hair, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He preached that people should repent from their sins and turn from their wicked acts. He told them, “Don’t rely on being children of Abraham. God can make children of Abraham from rocks.” He then baptized those who wanted to live for God.

Some religious leaders asked him, “Are you the Messiah?”

He said, “No, I’m not the Christ. I was sent to prepare the way for him. He’ll come after me. I’m not even worthy to untie his shoes.”

The next day, John was baptizing at the Jordan River, when he saw Jesus coming toward him. John shouted to the crowd, “Behold, here comes the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! This is the Son of God.”

Jesus walked into the water and asked John to baptize him. John said, “No, I should be baptized by you.”

Jesus said, “Allow this to be. It’s God’s will.”

So John baptized Jesus in front of all the people. When he came up out of the water, the sky suddenly opened and the Spirit of God, like a dove, came down on him. Then a voice said, “You’re my Son! I’m pleased with you.”

After the baptism, the Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights. After that, hunger gripped his entire body.

Suddenly the tempter was by his side, “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread so you can have something to eat.”

Jesus said, “God’s word says ‘Man is not to live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of mouth of God.’ ”

The devil took him to Jerusalem—onto the highest point of the temple wall. Jesus looked down at the rocks far below. The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down off of this wall. God’s word says there are angels taking care of you. They’ll keep you from hitting those rocks below. You won’t even stub your toe on them.”

Jesus said, “Yes, but God’s word also says, ‘You’re not to tempt God and put him to the test!’ ”

The devil then took Jesus to a very high mountain. He caused the kingdoms of the earth, in all their glory, to appear before them. He turned to Jesus and said, “I’ll give you everything you see. All you have to do is bow down and worship me.”

Jesus turned and looked at him. “Leave me, Satan! God’s word says, ‘He’s the only one to be worshiped. God is the only one to be served.’ ”

With that, the devil left him. Soon angels came to Jesus and cared for his needs.

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Song
Drama
Story Board
Maps

Story Told

Story Telling by Phyllis Hostmeyer

Insights

Audio

Song

Drama

D181-Baptism-Temptation

Story Board

Maps

Life-of-Jesus-2-Early-Ministry

Gifts for the King

179 – Gifts for the King

Matthew 2:1-23

While Jesus was still a young child, some men came from the east. Their research revealed that a royal redeemer would one day come to Israel. They studied the stars, and saw signs that indicated this king had finally been born.

They went to Jerusalem and talked to Herod, the king who was appointed by the Romans to rule over Israel. They said, “Where’s the child who has been born King of the Jews? We see his star, and we’ve come to worship him.”

Herod was evil and cruel. He became angry when he heard the news of a different king born in his domain. Still, he controlled himself and told the men he’d look into the matter. He called for the priests and teachers and asked, “Where does your Scripture say Messiah is to be born?”

They were quick to answer. “He’s to be born in Bethlehem.”

Herod went back to his visitors and asked to hear more about the heavenly signs and exactly when the royal star first appeared. He then told them, “Go to Bethlehem. Once you have found the child, report back to me. I’d like to go… uh… worship him as well.”

The men traveled the few miles to Bethlehem and went right to the house where Joseph, Mary, and the young child lived. They bowed down before Jesus and worshiped him. They gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

God warned these men that they were not to return to Herod, so they avoided Jerusalem and traveled home a different way. That night, an angel appeared to Joseph. “Get up! Herod will send soldiers to kill the child. Go to Egypt and stay there until I tell you to return.” So Joseph got up in the night and took his family to Egypt.

Herod was angry when he realized the men from the east had disobeyed him. He sent soldiers to Bethlehem and had all the young boys killed—those under the age of two.

In time, Herod died, and the angel told Joseph it was safe to return to Israel. Still, he decided
to move his family to Nazareth instead of going back to Bethlehem.

Jesus grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Story Told
Insights
Audio
Chart
Map
Extra-Biblical Story

Story Told

Story Telling by Phyllis Hostmeyer

Insights

Audio

Chart

Herods-Family-Tree

Map

Life-of-Jesus-1-Birth-to-Adulthood

Extra-Biblica Story

A Christmas Story Not Found in the Bible

The Birth of Jesus

178 – The Birth of Jesus

Matthew 1:18-25 Luke 2:1-39

Joseph found out Mary was pregnant soon after she got home from her visit with Elizabeth. He knew he wasn’t the father. Still, since he was a righteous man, he didn’t want to make a public example of her. No, he decided to simply break off the engagement and put her away quietly.

He was deep in thought about this when an angel appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, don’t be afraid to take Mary and make her your wife. The child she’s carrying is from the Holy Spirit. When he’s born, you’re to name him Jesus. He’s the Savior. He will save his people from their sins.” Joseph didn’t hesitate. He immediately made Mary his wife, but he wasn’t intimate with her until after the child was born.

They lived in Nazareth, which was in the northern part of Israel. Yet the Scripture said that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, which is near Jerusalem. At that time, the empire of Rome sent out an order requiring everyone to register in the city of their ancestry. Therefore, Joseph and his wife had to go to Bethlehem.

Soon after they got there, it came time for Mary to deliver her child. As soon as the baby was born, she wrapped him in strips of cloth, and laid him in a feeding trough because there was no room in the sleeping area. Messiah was born.

That same night, shepherds were watching their flock in a nearby field. Suddenly an angel stood with them, and the area was flooded with the glory of the Lord. The shepherds were terrified, but the angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to bring you great news!”

He then pointed toward the nearby town. “Tonight, the Savior was born in Bethlehem. He is Messiah. Go there, and look for a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly the whole area was filled with angels who were praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest! Peace and goodwill to the earth.” Then, they disappeared.

The shepherds immediately did as they were told. They went to Bethlehem and found Mary, Joseph, and the baby, just as the angel had said. They told them what happened that night, and everyone was amazed. Afterwards, they went back to the field, praising God for what they had seen.

Forty-one days later, it was time for Joseph and Mary to take Jesus to the temple, and offer sacrifice to the Lord. So the three of them went to Jerusalem.

There was a man at the temple named Simeon. God had told him that he wouldn’t die until he had seen the Promised One. The Spirit of God had prompted him to go to the temple that day. He saw Joseph and Mary and asked if he could hold the baby. Looking into the face of Jesus, he said, “Oh, praise be to God!” Looking toward heaven, he said, “Lord, you can now let me die. My eyes have seen your salvation.”

A woman named Anna walked up to them. She was 84 years old, and she had served God in the temple ever since her husband died after seven years of marriage. She asked to see the child. Afterwards, she said to everyone, “The Promised One has arrived! The Promised One has arrived!”

Joseph then took his little family back to their home in Bethlehem.