This is the story of the birth of the Messiah.Mary his mother was betrothed to Joseph； before their marriage she found that she was with child by the Holy Spirit. Being a man of principle, and at the same time wanting to save her from exposure,Joseph desired to have the marriage contract set aside quietly. He had resolved on this, when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.‘Joseph son of David,' said the angel, 'do not be afraid to take Mary home with you as your wife. It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived this child. She will bear a son； and you shall give him the name Jesus（Saviour）, for he will save his people from their sins.' All this happened in order to fulfil what the Lord declared through the prophet：“The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he shall be called Emmanuel', a name which means'God is with us'.Rising from sleep Joseph did as the angel had directed him；he took Mary home to be his wife, but had no intercourse with her until her son was born. And he named the child Jesus.

　　Jesus was born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of Herod.After his birth astrologers from the east arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who is born to be king of the Jews？We observed the rising of his star, and we have come to pay him homage.'King Herod was greatly perturbed when he heard this；and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the chief priests and lawyers of the Jewish people, and put before them the question：“Where is it that the Messiah is to be born？''At Bethlehem in Judaea', they replied； and they referred him to the prophecy which reads：”Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are far from least in the eyes of the rulers of Judah； for out of you shall come a leader to be the shepherd of my people Israel.'

　　Herod next called the astrologers to meet him in private,and ascertained from them the time when the star had appeared. He then sent them on to Bethlehem,and said, ‘Go and make a careful inquiry for the child.When you have found him, report to me, so that I may go myself and pay him homage.'

　　They set out at the king's bidding； and the star which they had seen at its rising went ahead of them until it stopped above the place where the child lay. At the sight of the star they were overjoyed,Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother,and bowed to the ground in homage to him； then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts： gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod,they returned home another way.

　　After they had gone,an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and said to him, ‘rise up, take the child and his mother and escape with them to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you； for Herod is going to search for the child to do away with him.'So Joseph rose from sleep,and taking mother and child by night he went away with them to Egypt, and there he stayed till Herod's death. This was to fulfil what the Lord had declared through the prophet： 'I called my son out of Egypt.'

　　When Herod saw how the astrologers had tricked him he fell into a passion, and gave orders for the massacre of all children in Bethlehem and its neighborhood, of the age of two years or less,corresponding with the time he had ascertained from the astrologers. So the words spoken through Jeremiah the prophet were fulfilled：“A voice was heard in Rama,wailing and loud laments； it was Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing all consolation,because they were no more.'

　　The time came that Herod died； and an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said to him, ‘Rise up, take the child and his mother, and go with them to the land of Israel, for the men who threatened the child's life are dead.' So he rose,took mother and child with him, and came to the land of Israel. Hearing, however, that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Judaea, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee； there he settled in a town called Nazareth.This was to fulfil the words spoken through the prophets：“He shall be called a Nazarene'

　　基督降生

　　現(xiàn)在講的是耶穌基督的降生。他母親馬利亞當(dāng)時(shí)已經(jīng)許配給約瑟，但還未過門，馬利亞發(fā)覺自從圣靈懷了孕。約瑟是個(gè)正直的人，他不想公開羞辱她，便打算暗地把婚約解除算了。當(dāng)他決心已定時(shí)，天主的使者在夢中向他顯靈說：“大衛(wèi)的子孫約瑟，你不用害怕，只管把馬利亞娶入門。她是從圣靈懷的孕。她將生個(gè)兒子，你要給他起名叫耶穌（救世主），因?yàn)樗麑炎约旱娜嗣駨淖飷褐薪饩瘸鰜??！边@一切之所以發(fā)生，是應(yīng)驗(yàn)了天主曾借先知之口講的話：“將有童女懷孕生子，人要稱他為以馬內(nèi)利”，這名字意思就是“上帝與我們同在。”約瑟醒后，就遵循使者的吩咐，把馬利亞娶入門為妻。但直至兒子降生，他一直都不跟馬利亞同房。他給兒子起名叫耶穌。

　　耶穌降生于猶太的伯利恒，當(dāng)時(shí)是希律王當(dāng)政。他出生后，有幾個(gè)占星學(xué)家從東方來到耶路撒冷，說：“那個(gè)生下來要做猶太人之王的孩子在哪里？我們看到他的星宿升起，特趕來拜謁他?！毕Ｂ赏趼牶螽惓ｓ@恐，耶路撒冷的全城居民也感到非常不安。希律王把祭司長和猶太人的法學(xué)家召集一起，問道：“基督要降生在何處？”他們答道，“在猶太的伯利恒。”他們告訴他，先知預(yù)言說：“猶大地的伯利恒啊，你在猶大的統(tǒng)治者的眼里，遠(yuǎn)非是無關(guān)緊要的，因?yàn)閺倪@里產(chǎn)生一位君王來帶領(lǐng)我們以色列人民?！?/p>

　　希律王私下又把占星學(xué)家召了來，問清楚那星是何時(shí)出現(xiàn)的。然后，便派他們到伯利恒去：“去仔細(xì)打聽一下那孩子的下落，找到后向我稟報(bào)，我好親自去拜謁他。”

　　占星學(xué)家們遵照希律王的命令起程去查訪。他們看到那顆升起的星一直在他們前邊移動(dòng)，到了那孩子所在的地方的上空就停住了。他們看到這情況就十分高興。進(jìn)屋后，他們看到那孩子正和他母親馬利亞在一起，便伏地拜見他；然后打開寶盒，把帶來的黃金、乳香和沒藥等禮品獻(xiàn)給他。占星學(xué)家們因?yàn)樵趬糁械玫街甘菊f不要再回去見希律王，于是就從別的路徑返回家去。

　　他們走后，主的一個(gè)使者便在夢中向約瑟顯靈，對他說：快起來，帶著孩子和他母親一起逃往埃及去吧。你們先住在那兒，以后我再告訴你們該怎么辦；因?yàn)橄Ｂ赏跻獙ふ疫@孩子，要置他于死地?！凹s瑟醒來馬上起床，連夜帶著母子倆逃往埃及。他在那兒一直住到希律王死去。這就應(yīng)驗(yàn)了主借先知所講的話，”我把我的兒子召出了埃及?！?/p>

　　當(dāng)希律得知自己受了占星學(xué)家的欺騙后，便怒不可遏地下令：按占星學(xué)家們指出的時(shí)間，凡是伯利恒城或其周圍地區(qū)的兩歲以內(nèi)的孩子，全都要?dú)⒌?。這就應(yīng)驗(yàn)了主借先知耶利米所說的話：“在拉瑪，你會聽到號啕痛哭的聲音，這是拉結(jié)在哭她的孩子們，而且誰也勸不住，因?yàn)樗膬号畟冊僖膊辉谌耸懒恕！?/p>

　　希律終于死了。天主的使者便在埃及向約瑟夢中顯靈，說：“起來，帶著孩子和他母親去以色列吧，因?yàn)橐⒆有悦娜硕家呀?jīng)死了。”約瑟便起來，帶著母子倆去以色列。但當(dāng)他聽說亞基老接替他父親希律作了猶太王的消息后，便又不敢到那里去。并按另一個(gè)夢中得到的告誡，他轉(zhuǎn)往加利利地區(qū)，在一座叫拿撒勒的城里住下。這就應(yīng)驗(yàn)天主借先知們所說的：“他要被稱為拿撒勒人了。”

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