THE STORY OF COUSINS: JOHN THE BAPTIST AND THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
It seemed good to me, since I have a perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you most excellent Theophilus, that you might know about the things you were instructed. In the days of Herod King of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias and his wife of the daughters of Aaron named Elisabeth, who were righteous before God and walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the LORD, blameless. They had no children because Elisabeth was barren and they were now both up in years.
While Zacharias executed his office before God in the temple, there appeared to him an Angel of the LORD, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. When Zacharias saw him, he was troubled and very fearful. The angel said to him,
"Zacharias, have no fear for your prayer has been heard, your wife Elisabeth will bare a son and you will call his name John. He will be great in the sight of the LORD, and will drink neither wine nor strong drink, filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. Many of the Children of Israel will turn to the LORD their God. John in the Spirit and power of Elias will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and turn their disobedience to wisdom to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this? I am an old man and my wife is an old woman." The angel said, I am Gabriel, and I stand in the presence of God; I was sent to speak to you and to show you glad tidings. Zacharias scoffed at the angels words. The angel said, "since you didn't believe my words that your wife would bare a son, you will be dumb and not be able to speak until the day that Elisabeth gives birth." Zacharias stayed in the temple so long, when he came out he could not speak. The people knew he had seen a vision, because he called to them and remained speechless.
As soon as Zacharias' days of ministration were done, he departed to his house. His wife Elisabeth conceived and hid herself for five months and said, "The LORD has been with me and took away my shame from others." In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin named Mary engaged to a man whose name is Joseph from the House of David.
The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, "Hail Mary, fear not, you are found highly favored with God, he is with you, you are blessed by God among women, do not be afraid." When Mary saw him she was very troubled at what he told her. "Behold, you will conceive and bare a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great and called the Son of the most high.
The LORD God will give him the throne of his earthly father, David, and Jesus will reign over the House of Jacob forever. His kingdom will have no end." Mary then asked Gabriel, "how can this be seeing I know not a man?" Gabriel answered, The Holy Ghost will come upon you and you will conceive and bare a son, who is holy and be called the "Son" of God".
Your cousin Elisabeth, who was barren also conceived a son in her old age. This is her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible. Mary said, "Behold the handmaid of the LORD, will do as the LORD commands." So the angel departed from Mary and she rose and went into the hill country with haste, to the city of Judea, where her cousin Elisabeth lived. Mary entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elisabeth. When the babe in Elisabeth's womb heard, he leaped for joy. Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. She spoke with a loud voice to Mary, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. As soon as your voice sounded in my ears, my babe leaped in my womb for you. Blessed are you because you believed; there will be a performance of the things which the angel Gabriel has told you." Mary said, "My soul magnifies God my Savior." And Mary stayed with Elisabeth about three months, then returned to her own house.
Elisabeth's full time came she delivered her son and called his name John. Her neighbors and cousins heard how the LORD had shown great mercy on her, and they rejoiced with her. When the boy was delivered they called him Zacharias after his father. Elisabeth answered, NO! He shall be called John." The people made signs to Zacharias, what will he be called? He asked for a table and wrote "his name is John". They all marveled at that. "Zacharias' mouth was immediately opened and his tongue loosed, he spoke, "Praise the God!"
Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost and he prophesied..."He has raised up a horn of Salvation for us..." John will be called a prophet of the most high. He will go before Jesus and prepare his way." And the child grew, waxed strong in Spirit and dwelled in the deserts till the day of Jesus appearing to Israel.
Joseph and Mary left their home to travel to Bethlehem to pay taxes. There were so many people in this small town, all the inns were full. Joseph searched for a place for them to lodge, and all he could find was a stable. Mary delivered and brought forth her first born son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the manger (feeding trough). Now there were shepherds in the same country in the fields keeping watch of their sheep. It wasn't cold outside or they would have had the sheep in folds. The LORD came upon them and his glory shown around them. They were very afraid. "Be not afraid, fear not, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, to you this day in the City of David, a Savior was born, which is Christ the LORD, the only begotten Son of GOD."
After the angel left, the shepherds said to each other, "Let us go to Bethlehem and see if this thing has came to pass." They went in haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe in a stable. The baby was laying in a manger. The shepherds shouted for joy and returned to their fields, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen. Notice here in Luke the wisemen were not mentioned. They were not at Jesus' birth. When the wisemen are mentioned the bible doesn't say how many. People assume it is 3 because of the number of gifts that were sent to Jesus. King Herod made a decree to kill all male babies from birth to two years of age. This was to hopefully get rid of the baby Jesus. He sent the wisemen to look for the baby, so he could go and worship King. Of course that wasn't true, he wanted to send men to kill him. A star appeared to them and stayed in place above a house, not in Bethlehem, but in Egypt. Joseph and Mary were in hiding to keep Jesus safe from the decree of King Herod. God had came to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary and the babe to Egypt to hid until Jesus was older. The wisemen came and found the child in a house, and the boy was almost two years old. They worshiped their King and gave him gifts, and praised God the Father. When it was time for the wisemen to leave, an angel appeared to them and told them to go home another way, not back through Bethlehem where Herod waited. They turned and went another way to their home country of Persia. Now the bible doesn't mention their country being Persia but in history, it mentions they were from Persia.
Notice the bible doesn't mention the day nor the month Jesus was born. God didn't give any commands to celebrate Jesus' birth. At that time in history, only Kings birthdays were celebrated. The ones mentioned in the bible did not end well. Like the King at the time of John the Baptist. He loved John the Baptist and didn't know what was being planned to happen to John at his birthday celebration. His wife had a daughter who sang and danced for the King at his celebration which gave him pleasure. He was so wrapped up in the celebration he asked his step-daughter what she would like. He said he would grant her what she wished. Her mother, the Queen wanted John the Baptist's head. So she told her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist. The daughter said, I want the head of John the Baptist brought to me on a platter. When the King heard that he was very sorrowful. But he had to keep his word, so he had John the Baptist brought to him and beheaded. The cousin of Jesus was beheaded.
The celebration of Christ's birth didn't begin until 300 years after his birth. In history you will find The Roman Catholic Church wanted to get more people into their churches, so they began having celebrations such as Christ-mas and Easter. Even the Sabbath Day the day of Worship and Creation was said to be changed by a Pope in the Roman Catholic Church. God never changed His day of rest from Saturday to Sunday. That was done by man. When the Sunday Law was given, it was a day of rest for the working people. Why was Sunday chosen, I have no clue. If you are wanting to follow Jesus and keep God's commandments, you need to keep Saturday as the day of worship and rest.
written by *Starlight* December 26, 2025.
Scriptures I used were from the KJV Bible in the Book of Luke Chapters 1 and 2. Some in the Book of John. I listened to a video on YouTube on the Christian Channel entitled "The Truth About the Wisemen." That not might be the corrected title, but if you will look it up on YouTube on the Christian Channel, you will find it.
While Zacharias executed his office before God in the temple, there appeared to him an Angel of the LORD, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. When Zacharias saw him, he was troubled and very fearful. The angel said to him,
"Zacharias, have no fear for your prayer has been heard, your wife Elisabeth will bare a son and you will call his name John. He will be great in the sight of the LORD, and will drink neither wine nor strong drink, filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. Many of the Children of Israel will turn to the LORD their God. John in the Spirit and power of Elias will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and turn their disobedience to wisdom to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this? I am an old man and my wife is an old woman." The angel said, I am Gabriel, and I stand in the presence of God; I was sent to speak to you and to show you glad tidings. Zacharias scoffed at the angels words. The angel said, "since you didn't believe my words that your wife would bare a son, you will be dumb and not be able to speak until the day that Elisabeth gives birth." Zacharias stayed in the temple so long, when he came out he could not speak. The people knew he had seen a vision, because he called to them and remained speechless.
As soon as Zacharias' days of ministration were done, he departed to his house. His wife Elisabeth conceived and hid herself for five months and said, "The LORD has been with me and took away my shame from others." In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin named Mary engaged to a man whose name is Joseph from the House of David.
The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, "Hail Mary, fear not, you are found highly favored with God, he is with you, you are blessed by God among women, do not be afraid." When Mary saw him she was very troubled at what he told her. "Behold, you will conceive and bare a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great and called the Son of the most high.
The LORD God will give him the throne of his earthly father, David, and Jesus will reign over the House of Jacob forever. His kingdom will have no end." Mary then asked Gabriel, "how can this be seeing I know not a man?" Gabriel answered, The Holy Ghost will come upon you and you will conceive and bare a son, who is holy and be called the "Son" of God".
Your cousin Elisabeth, who was barren also conceived a son in her old age. This is her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible. Mary said, "Behold the handmaid of the LORD, will do as the LORD commands." So the angel departed from Mary and she rose and went into the hill country with haste, to the city of Judea, where her cousin Elisabeth lived. Mary entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elisabeth. When the babe in Elisabeth's womb heard, he leaped for joy. Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. She spoke with a loud voice to Mary, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. As soon as your voice sounded in my ears, my babe leaped in my womb for you. Blessed are you because you believed; there will be a performance of the things which the angel Gabriel has told you." Mary said, "My soul magnifies God my Savior." And Mary stayed with Elisabeth about three months, then returned to her own house.
Elisabeth's full time came she delivered her son and called his name John. Her neighbors and cousins heard how the LORD had shown great mercy on her, and they rejoiced with her. When the boy was delivered they called him Zacharias after his father. Elisabeth answered, NO! He shall be called John." The people made signs to Zacharias, what will he be called? He asked for a table and wrote "his name is John". They all marveled at that. "Zacharias' mouth was immediately opened and his tongue loosed, he spoke, "Praise the God!"
Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost and he prophesied..."He has raised up a horn of Salvation for us..." John will be called a prophet of the most high. He will go before Jesus and prepare his way." And the child grew, waxed strong in Spirit and dwelled in the deserts till the day of Jesus appearing to Israel.
Joseph and Mary left their home to travel to Bethlehem to pay taxes. There were so many people in this small town, all the inns were full. Joseph searched for a place for them to lodge, and all he could find was a stable. Mary delivered and brought forth her first born son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the manger (feeding trough). Now there were shepherds in the same country in the fields keeping watch of their sheep. It wasn't cold outside or they would have had the sheep in folds. The LORD came upon them and his glory shown around them. They were very afraid. "Be not afraid, fear not, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, to you this day in the City of David, a Savior was born, which is Christ the LORD, the only begotten Son of GOD."
After the angel left, the shepherds said to each other, "Let us go to Bethlehem and see if this thing has came to pass." They went in haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe in a stable. The baby was laying in a manger. The shepherds shouted for joy and returned to their fields, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen. Notice here in Luke the wisemen were not mentioned. They were not at Jesus' birth. When the wisemen are mentioned the bible doesn't say how many. People assume it is 3 because of the number of gifts that were sent to Jesus. King Herod made a decree to kill all male babies from birth to two years of age. This was to hopefully get rid of the baby Jesus. He sent the wisemen to look for the baby, so he could go and worship King. Of course that wasn't true, he wanted to send men to kill him. A star appeared to them and stayed in place above a house, not in Bethlehem, but in Egypt. Joseph and Mary were in hiding to keep Jesus safe from the decree of King Herod. God had came to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary and the babe to Egypt to hid until Jesus was older. The wisemen came and found the child in a house, and the boy was almost two years old. They worshiped their King and gave him gifts, and praised God the Father. When it was time for the wisemen to leave, an angel appeared to them and told them to go home another way, not back through Bethlehem where Herod waited. They turned and went another way to their home country of Persia. Now the bible doesn't mention their country being Persia but in history, it mentions they were from Persia.
Notice the bible doesn't mention the day nor the month Jesus was born. God didn't give any commands to celebrate Jesus' birth. At that time in history, only Kings birthdays were celebrated. The ones mentioned in the bible did not end well. Like the King at the time of John the Baptist. He loved John the Baptist and didn't know what was being planned to happen to John at his birthday celebration. His wife had a daughter who sang and danced for the King at his celebration which gave him pleasure. He was so wrapped up in the celebration he asked his step-daughter what she would like. He said he would grant her what she wished. Her mother, the Queen wanted John the Baptist's head. So she told her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist. The daughter said, I want the head of John the Baptist brought to me on a platter. When the King heard that he was very sorrowful. But he had to keep his word, so he had John the Baptist brought to him and beheaded. The cousin of Jesus was beheaded.
The celebration of Christ's birth didn't begin until 300 years after his birth. In history you will find The Roman Catholic Church wanted to get more people into their churches, so they began having celebrations such as Christ-mas and Easter. Even the Sabbath Day the day of Worship and Creation was said to be changed by a Pope in the Roman Catholic Church. God never changed His day of rest from Saturday to Sunday. That was done by man. When the Sunday Law was given, it was a day of rest for the working people. Why was Sunday chosen, I have no clue. If you are wanting to follow Jesus and keep God's commandments, you need to keep Saturday as the day of worship and rest.
written by *Starlight* December 26, 2025.
Scriptures I used were from the KJV Bible in the Book of Luke Chapters 1 and 2. Some in the Book of John. I listened to a video on YouTube on the Christian Channel entitled "The Truth About the Wisemen." That not might be the corrected title, but if you will look it up on YouTube on the Christian Channel, you will find it.
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