highly favored! The Lord is with you. 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." When Jesus made his virginal entrance into the world, the shepherds were visited by an angel telling them the Savior had been born and they could find him wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger in the town of David. The shepherds hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby. The second item Luke gives us is the story of Jesus' presentation in the temple at the age of 12, and the way he surprised everyone with his ability to answer questions -- his great mental capacity. Some years later, John son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, was preparing the way by preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. While John was baptizing people, Jesus was baptized too. The heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him and a voice said, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." It was here that Luke gave a detailed account of Jesus' genealogy, tracing it back to Adam. Now Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. Temptations were great. The Spirit led him to 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 tested him in many ways but Jesus did not waiver. As you continue through...
