For to us a child is born—Matthew 1.18-25

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God.Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, son of Jacob, of the house of David,but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. An angel had told Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.”

And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to disgrace, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities and wickedness, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as He promised. Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. For God will not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among humans by which they must be saved. Through this child forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed; by this Jesus everyone who believes is set free from all those sins from which they could not be freed by the law of Moses.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” When Joseph woke up from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. She gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.