Luke 3:1 It was the 15th year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar. These men were under Caesar: Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea;Herod, the ruler of Galilee;Philip, Herod’s brother, the ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis;Lysanias, the ruler of Abilene. 2 Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. During this time, John, the son of Zechariah, was living in the desert, and he received a message from God.

23 When Jesus began to teach, he was about 30 years old. People thought that Jesus was Joseph’s son.Joseph was the son of Eli.24 Eli was the son of Matthat.Matthat was the son of Levi.

Luke 2:1 It was about that same time that Augustus Caesar sent out an order to all people in the countries that were under Roman rule. The order said that everyone’s name must be put on a list. 2 This was the first counting of all the people while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 Everyone traveled to their own hometowns to have their name put on the list.4 So Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Galilee, and went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea. It was known as the town of David. Joseph went there because he was from the family of David. 5 Joseph registered with Mary because she was engaged to marry him. (She was now pregnant.) 6 While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have the baby. 7 She gave birth to her first son. She wrapped him up well and laid him in a box where cattle are fed. She put him there because the guest room was full.

22 The time came for Mary and Joseph to do the things the Law of Moses taught about being made pure.[a] They brought Jesus to Jerusalem so that they could present him to the Lord. 23 It is written in the law of the Lord: “When a mother’s first baby is a boy, he shall be called ‘special for the Lord.’”[b] 24 The law of the Lord also says that people must give a sacrifice: “You must sacrifice two doves or two young pigeons.”[c] So Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem to do this.

48 When his parents saw him, they wondered how this was possible. And his mother said, “Son, why did you do this to us? Your father and I were very worried about you. We have been looking for you.” 

Luke 1: 5 During the time when Herod ruled Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah. He belonged to Abijah’s group.[a] His wife came from the family of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were both good people who pleased God. They did everything the Lord commanded, always following his instructions completely. 7 But they had no children. Elizabeth could not have a baby, and both of them were very old.

8 Zechariah was serving as a priest before God for his group. It was his group’s time to serve. 9 The priests always chose one priest to offer the incense, and Zechariah was the one chosen this time. So he went into the Temple of the Lord to offer the incense. 10 There was a large crowd outside praying at the time the incense was offered.

11 Then, on the right side of the incense table, an angel of the Lord came and stood before Zechariah. 12 When he saw the angel, Zechariah was upset and very afraid. 13 But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. Your prayer has been heard by God. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a baby boy, and you will name him John. 14 You will be very happy, and many others will share your joy over his birth. 15 He will be a great man for the Lord. He will never drink wine or beer. Even before he is born, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

16 “John will help many people of Israel return to the Lord their God. 17 John himself will go ahead of the Lord and make people ready for his coming. He will be powerful like Elijah and will have the same spirit. He will make peace between fathers and their children. He will cause people who are not obeying God to change and start thinking the way they should.”