Category: Study Bible

That’s what several Bible journaling enthusiasts said when we announced we would be releasing our beloved coloring and journaling Bible—the Inspire Bible—with access to the Filament Bible app. For years we have had people requesting a coloring and journaling study Bible, but due to size limitations, that kind of Bible was basically impossible. Thanks to the Filament Bible app, we now have a way to make that dream a reality. A coloring and journaling Bible with all the study notes, resources, and even more features than a traditional study Bible without taking up any of the creative space! The new Inspire FAITH Bible is filament-enabled, but that’s not all. It’s a completely new edition in our Inspire Bible line with fresh line-art verses and updated margins for Bible journaling fans.

The Inspire FAITH Bible has 655 new faith-themed Scripture illustrations scattered throughout the Bible. These gorgeous images include line-art Scripture verses to color as well as full-color vellum pages interspersed throughout the pages of the Bible. This visually stunning Bible is available in two covers: LeatherLike watercolor floral and hardcover coral blossom.

The engaging and accurate New Living Translation text is the highlight of this Bible. Set in a single-column format, it has an 8.65 text font, which is larger and more readable than most full-size journaling Bibles. The extremely roomy, lightly ruled, three-inch-wide margins and high-quality Bible paper make it the perfect choice for creatively responding to God’s Word right on the pages of the Bible.

Ready to go further in your Bible study? Download the Filament Bible app on your smartphone or tablet. Once the Bible is linked to the app, just scan the page number to access thousands of resources, including study notes, theme articles, people profiles, devotionals, worship music, interactive maps and graphics, videos, reading plans, and more.

Read, reflect, and respond to God’s voice as you grow closer to him using the Inspire FAITH Bible.

Purchase Inspire FAITH Bible

God created us all unique. He intentionally made us to be different. But what we all have in common is that we are created in God’s image and made to yearn for a relationship with him. God gave us his Word to help us draw closer to him, understand who he is, and discover our role in his story of redemption. How we each engage with God’s Word is just as unique as how he made us! There are lots of great ways to engage with Scripture, and at Tyndale Bibles, we try to provide a variety of options to help you find the one (or ones) that work best for you. Here are a few ideas:

For the Reader

Do you often find yourself immersed in a good story? Can’t stop at the end of one chapter? The Bible is an incredible story, but sometimes instead of reading the Bible, we scrutinize it. Study is a great tool to better understand the truth of the Bible, but we can miss so much if we don’t read it as it was meant to be read.

Immerse: The Reading Bible is the Bible divided into six volumes. It removes chapter and verse numbers for a more seamless reading experience. These paperback volumes help you easily read full passages instead of tiny verse nuggets. Clearing away distractions lets you immerse yourself in the story.

This is a perfect Bible for the booklover—or for anyone who wants to read deeply and bask in the story of God’s love for us!

For the Investigator

Some of us have very analytical minds. We are always asking questions, looking for intricate details, and longing to know more. We want to investigate and learn all we can about a situation or a person. There are some amazing study Bibles that can take us deeper into understanding biblical topics and truths, cultural and historical perspectives, and particular Bible books and passages.

The NLT Study Bible is a great Bible to help you on your investigative journey. Filled with thousands of study notes, maps, and insightful articles, it helps you take that deeper dive into Scripture. For even more insight, you might want to try a commentary series, like the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary series or the Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary series.

The Best of Both Worlds

Sometimes we like a little of everything. We want a great reading experience, but we also enjoy the opportunity to go deeper and learn more about a passage or topic by using quickly accessible study resources.

Filament-enabled text Bibles offer the perfect combination of reading and study. They are beautiful print Bibles that come in lots of great sizes—from compact Bibles that you can easily throw into a bag to super giant print Bibles (with 16-point font!) and so many in between. But the convenience doesn’t stop there. When you download the Filament Bible app, you can open a world of resources just by scanning each page number with your phone or tablet. Dive into study notes, articles, devotionals, interactive maps and graphics, videos, and more! So read deeply, and when you’re ready, just scan the page number and start exploring!

We also just released a Filament-enabled Student Life Application Study Bible that gives you access to over 27,000 notes between the in-print and in-app content! And we are welcoming three Filament-enabled editions to our bestselling journaling and coloring Bible, the Inspire Bible—adding countless study resources without taking up any journaling space.

So many options!

For the Visual Learner

Some of us are visual learners. We are better able to understand concepts and ideas when we see images or illustrations. We are drawn to art, photography, and infographics because they help us gain additional insight.

The Illustrated Study Bible is a stunning visual study experience. Filled with comprehensive study notes, articles, and profiles, it goes beyond the Scripture text to bring the Bible to life with visuals. The who, what, where, when, and why of the Bible jump off the page with stunning photos, illustrations, infographics, and full-color maps that integrate seamlessly with the scholarly study material. A feast for the eyes, mind, and soul!

For Those Who Ask, “Now What?”

After reading the Bible, do you ever ask yourself, “Now what?” We know the Bible is filled with amazing, transformative truth, but what do we do with it?

The Life Application Study Bible takes the Bible off the page and into your life. Because it understands that God’s Word is more than just a textbook to be studied, this Bible helps you impact your day-to-day with the things you’re learning and reading. Thousands of notes, profiles, maps, charts, and articles make it not only one of the most comprehensive study Bibles available, but also one of the most practical.

For the Creative

God is the Creator, and his creative imprint is on many of our lives. Sometimes we worship through our artistic abilities and bask in his peace through coloring and journaling.

The Inspire Bible collection was created for those who enjoy worshiping through the visual arts. It has hundreds of Scripture-based line-art drawings to color as well as roomy 2.25-inch-wide margins for taking notes or creating your own unique art.

For those not interested in line art, consider a Filament Bible Journal. Each volume in this collection presents an individual book of the New Testament with every other page left blank for taking notes, journaling, asking questions, writing prayers, and more. There are also Filament-enabled wide-margin Bibles, which offer lightly lined 2.25-inch margins on each page.

For the Checklist Checker

For those of us who are obsessed with checklists, a One Year Bible might be the perfect tool to read God’s Word in an organized way. There are many different One Year Bibles, including ones that have prayer prompts, devotionals, study notes, and wide margins.

But what makes One Year Bibles perfect for the organizationally minded is that the Bible is divided into daily reading portions. Whether you are reading a One Year Bible featuring daily passages from the Old Testament, the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs or making your way through the Bible’s grand story with The One Year Chronological Study Bible, you can check each day’s reading off your list as soon as you are finished.

That’s 365 days of Bible reading already organized for you and checklist ready!

For the Avid Listener

In Romans 10:17, Paul tells us that faith comes through hearing, and for some of us, hearing God’s truth is what helps it stick.

The Streetlights New Testament offers a unique print-plus-audio experience. Every book of the New Testament in the print portion has a QR code that lets you engage with God’s Word through a revolutionary audio component. The ministry team at Streetlights has put the words of the New Living Translation to hip-hop music and beats. Read the Word. Listen to the Word. Be transformed by the Word.

For the Hands-On Learner

Though the Hands-On Bible was created for kids, it’s great for adults, too—especially adults who like to “do” life. This Bible doesn’t let you just sit there. That makes it a great resource for kinesthetic learners. As you engage with activities, games, crafts, recipes, and more, you won’t just read the Bible—you’ll experience it. All your senses will get involved. You’ll see, hear, taste, touch, feel, and maybe even smell the wonders of God’s Word. Interact with this Bible to better understand Scripture and live out its truth.

There is so much suffering in our world that it can be hard to know how to respond. We are going to use the HelpFinder Bible to see how the Bible answers questions about suffering and how we can respond.

Taken from the HelpFinder Bible

Who among us does not suffer, bearing persistent pain and hurt? Sickness or disabilities, broken relationships, insufficient resources—these are all sources of pain and suffering. Some are by chance, like an auto accident that maims us or a disease that cripples or takes the life of a loved one. Some is by neglect, such as our failure to prepare for times of pressure. Some is by design, where we willingly take on enormous responsibilities in order to achieve some goal. Some are because of sin, where we willingly go against God’s commands and then must suffer the consequences. Whatever the source, we all feel the dark shadow of suffering. While the Bible never promises a life free from suffering, it does assure us that God is with us in our pain.

How do I stay close to God in times of suffering?

PSALM 126:5-6 | Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.
Recognize that suffering is not forever. In the dark hours of the night of suffering, it is hard to think of a morning of joy and gladness.

LAMENTATIONS 3:32-33 | Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.
Recognize that God does not want you to suffer and that his compassionate love and care will see you through it. A loving God does not enjoy the adversity and pain of life which must come your way.

MATTHEW 17:12 | “And in the same way they will also make the Son of Man suffer.”

LUKE 24:26 | “Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?”

JOHN 3:16 | “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Recognize that Jesus himself suffered for you. He suffered the agonies of the cross, which embraced not only the incredible physical suffering but also the unthinkable suffering of bearing the sins of the entire world.

ROMANS 8:17-18 | And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

HEBREWS 2:18 | Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.
Recognize that suffering is not forever and will end when those who believe in Jesus are
welcomed into heaven.

How can I respond to the suffering of others?

1 CORINTHIANS 12:26 | If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
When one Christian suffers, it should hurt us all, for we are all members of Christ’s body—unified. If one part of our body hurts, sympathetic pain is sent throughout our entire body. So it should be in the body of Christ. If you know someone who is hurting, suffering along with that person can bring them comfort and hope.

GALATIANS 6:2 | Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.
Seek to provide whatever practical support you can for a person who is suffering.

2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-4 | God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
Suffering enables you to comfort others. Wounded healers are more effective than healers who have never been wounded. Why? Because they have wrestled and agonized over the same questions, and they know they don’t have all the answers. Woundedness may appear to weaken you, but it actually makes you stronger.

Promises From God
PSALM 147:3 | He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.
2 CORINTHIANS 1:5 | For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with
his comfort through Christ.

Learn more about the HelpFinder Bible

“When Timothy comes, don’t intimidate him. He is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am. Don’t let anyone treat him with contempt. Send him on his way with your blessing when he returns to me. I expect him to come with the other believers.” 1 Corinthians 16:10-11, NLT

Profile from the Every Man’s Bible

Too many of us shrink back from ministry involvement because we tell ourselves we just don’t have the right temperament. We hear of the fiery fisherman Peter or the bold apostle Paul and think, Hey, I’m nothing like that. I could never get up in front of three people to speak, let alone a crowd. I’ll leave ministry to the professionals.

Yet God doesn’t think this way. Consider Timothy “Exhibit A.” Timothy grew up in a mixed home. While his Jewish mother became a Christian, his Greek father apparently never came to faith. It appears that both Timothy and his mother accepted Christ during Paul’s first missionary journey when the apostle visited their hometown, Lystra. On Paul’s second trip through the area, he took note of Timothy, a young man “well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium” (Acts 16:2). Paul and Timothy developed a close bond, and the apostle became the younger man’s spiritual mentor.

From that time on, Timothy often accompanied Paul on his journeys, sometimes staying behind and sometimes working with others in “advance teams,” paving the way for Paul’s arrival (Acts 17:14; 18:5; 19:22; 20:4). Paul grew to love this young man as if he were his own flesh and blood.

He counted him a “fellow worker” (Romans 16:21) and “brother” (2 Corinthians 1:1); but more than that, he thought of Timothy as “my dear son” (2 Timothy 1:2), “my beloved and faithful child in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 4:17) and “my true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2). And he could say, “I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. . . . Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News” (Philippians 2:20, 22).

Yet Timothy was no Paul; Paul was an example and mentor for his son in the faith, but Timothy was not a mirror of Paul’s strengths. Timothy struggled with fear and hesitation. So Paul admonished his timid protégé: “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News” (2 Timothy 1:7-8). The apostle instructed those who might be his hosts, “When Timothy comes, don’t intimidate him. . . . Don’t let anyone treat him with contempt” (1 Corinthians 16:10-11).

Timothy proves that God can and does use all kinds of temperaments in ministry. The big question for each of us is this: Do I want him to use me?

Learn more about the Every Man’s Bible

by Molly Jo Nynam

Naomi was so excited about the Tyndale Bible she bought her husband, Andrew, that she wasn’t sure she could wait until Christmas to give it to him. At age 37, this would be his first study Bible and the first time he would have God’s Word in the New Living Translation—Naomi’s favorite.

“Reading the NLT makes reading the Bible real, regular, and more vivid. I don’t have to wonder about word meanings and definitions. It comes alive so you can connect with it,” Naomi said.

“And study Bibles are great because you have resources right there in your Bible. If you’re not sure about something, it’s explained right there. If you’re wondering how something applies to your life, you can find that too. And when you see how prophecies have been fulfilled, you have further proof that this is the Word of God.”

Her love of God’s Word is not just apparent, it’s attractive—like the warm, magnetic glow of a long-burning, consistently stoked fire.

Having grown up in a Christian home with a single mother and one brother, Naomi is thankful for a heritage that immersed her in the church and God’s Word.

“I don’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t have a Bible,” Naomi recalls. “I grew up dirt poor, but my mom always made sure we had Bibles. Beginner Bibles, Life Application youth Bibles—even if they cost a whole day’s wages. We would line the covers with contact paper to help preserve them and read them until the bindings fell apart.”

Naomi has had the joy of seeing Andrew grow exponentially in his faith since he’s been reading his new Bible. And though he also enjoys reading God’s Word digitally, she said, “There’s something about holding it in your hands. He definitely cherishes his new Bible.”

And what would Naomi say to people who don’t read the Bible or have given up on finding help in God’s Word?

“There are people who think the Bible isn’t applicable. I would encourage them to have a Bible that’s easy to read and to ask God to help show them what they are meant to see that day. And if you don’t have a hunger for reading the Bible, ask God to give you a hunger. You’ll be amazed at what happens if you pray!”

“Recently, I read an article about Christians and Jews in Ukraine praying and reading Psalms 31 and 27. They’re under attack by the Russian army and they’re reading Scripture while bunkered down in the subway. Why? Because they know whatever problem you face, whether it’s an attack on the battlefield, an illness, the loss of a family member, or maybe just struggling to find purpose, the Bible has an answer for that!

“If people are turning to the Bible while listening to air-raid sirens and hiding from actual missiles, surely it has something for you in your situation as well!

“I hear people say things like ‘I wish God would just speak to me’ or ‘I wish God would give me a word,’ but if you aren’t opening your Bible, you’re missing out on hearing His voice. The Bible isn’t just ‘a word’ it’s The Word. So if you want to hear from God, first pray, then open your Bible and start reading and listening to what He has to say.

“God is faithful. He never walks away from us. And if you are far away from God, it’s never too late to walk back.”

Looking for a Bible for yourself or to give as a gift? We can help! Check out our Bible Finder

What a joy to hear stories of people gaining a better understanding of God’s Word and growing in their relationship with Christ while using their Filament Bibles. We are excited to see the collection continue to grow and make God’s Word even more accessible. This spring, three new Filament lines are releasing, and this summer we are adding some amazing new covers to our full size and large print Thinline Reference Filament Bible lines. These are all in the New Living Translation and include free access to the Filament Bible app, which has study notes, devotionals, interactive graphics, videos, and more.

Filament Wide Margin Bibles

You wanted a journaling study Bible, and we made it happen! Filament Wide Margin Bibles feature single-column text and include 2.25” lightly ruled margins, making this Bible great for note-taking, journaling, and more. When used with the Filament Bible app, this Bible gives you access to incredible study notes, devotionals, and other amazing content without taking up valuable journaling space. It is available in brown, black, and ocean blue covers.

Filament Compact Giant Print

Filament Compact Giant Print Bibles bring you the best of portability and readability with a larger font in a smaller sized Bible. Like other compact editions of the New Living Translation, this Bible fits easily into a purse, backpack, briefcase, or suitcase. This Bible features the life-changing New Living Translation text in 10-point font with the words of Jesus in red. There are four different covers: rose gold, navy blue, brown cross, and peony teal.

Filament Super Giant Print

This Bible is amazing! Filament Super Giant Print Bibles have the largest font size in the line yet are still easy to carry with you. It’s an easy-to-read 16-point font Bible that isn’t as big as a door stop! This Bible truly is a marvel. It features the words of Jesus in red and is perfect for someone who needs that little extra help reading the text but still wants a portable Bible. It is available in brown, black, and peony teal.

Quick look at what’s coming this summer

More zipper covers!!!

This summer we are releasing three new covers in the Filament Large Print Thinline Reference line. One is a gorgeous green mountain LeatherLike. There will also be two new zipper covers—messenger brown and camel, and navy and pink floral.

Three new covers in the full size Filament Thinline Reference line also are releasing this summer. One is a messenger brown LeatherLike. There will also be two new zipper covers—sunset branches and atlas brown.

See all the Bibles in the Filament Bible Collection

Listen to the Lord, you leaders of “Sodom.” Listen to the law of our God, people of “Gomorrah.” “What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?

Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting—they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them! When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.

Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool. If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat. But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies. I, the Lord, have spoken!” Isaiah 1:10-20, NLT

Notes from the Life Application Study Bible

The new moon celebrations were monthly offerings (Numbers 28:11-14), and the celebrations of the Sabbath were weekly and special annual Sabbaths on the Day of Atonement and Festival of Shelters (Leviticus 16:23-34; 23:1-4, 26-43). (For all the festivals, see the chart on page 189.) Although the people did not feel sorry for their sins, they continued to offer sacrifices for forgiveness. Gifts and sacrifices mean nothing to God when they come from corrupt hearts. God wants us to love him, trust him, and turn from our sin; after that, he will be pleased with our sacrifices of time, money, and service.

God was unhappy with these people’s sacrifices, but he was not revoking the system of sacrifices he had initiated with Moses. Instead, God was calling for sincere faith and devotion. The leaders were carefully making the traditional sacrifices and offerings at holy celebrations, but they were still unfaithful to God in their hearts. Sacrifices were to be an outward sign of inward faith in God, but the outward signs had become empty rituals because no inward faith existed. Why, then, did the people continue to offer sacrifices? Like many today, they had come to place more importance on the outward show of their religion than on love for the God they should have been worshiping. Examine your own worship experience: Is it just entertainment as you enjoy the music and go along with what others do? Or is it genuine, heartfelt praise to God? God does not take pleasure in our outward expressions of worship if we lack inward faith (see Deuteronomy 10:12-16; 1 Samuel 15:22-23; Psalm 51:16-19; Hosea 6:6).

Learn more about the Life Application Study Bible

“So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” John 1:14, NLT

Article from the Swindoll Study Bible

The Son of God, as “very God” (to quote the Nicene Creed), arrived on this earth as a man. He came to the mountains He created. He faced the rivers with their rushing currents. He crossed the valleys. He gazed upon the sea. He walked beneath the skies and the stars and the moon and the sun. But the tragedy of all tragedies is this: “He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him” (John 1:10). The world didn’t recognize the One who had created it. In other words, “He came to his own people, and even they rejected him” (John 1:11).

In our world, people look at the beauty of creation but refuse to acknowledge the Creator. Imagine Walt Disney coming to Disneyland on its opening day in 1955—but nobody even acknowledging him or acknowledging the fact that everything in the park had come from his imagination and creativity. Imagine them all saying, “Oh, it just happened.” Such an illustration can’t really do justice to this magnificent passage of Scripture, but you get the picture.

We all know the Christmas story: The Creator came to our planet as a baby, but there was no room at the inn for the One who had created the rocks from which that inn was made. There was no welcome mat for Christ. Isn’t it remarkable that the One who is coequal, coeternal, and coexistent with the Father and the Spirit—the One who divinely decreed the events that would run their course on this earth in perfect timing with His profound plan—could come to the earth and be beaten and spit upon, have spikes driven through His hands and feet, be hung on a cross, and be cursed until He died? Even after being raised from the dead, He is still denied, rejected, and refused some twenty centuries later. There is still no room for the Savior.

What about you? Do you know what it means that God, who made everything, reduced Himself to take on skin, subject Himself to the very gravity that He put into effect, and limit Himself to a tiny space of property—for you?

From the vanishing point of the past to the vanishing point of the future, Jesus Christ remains in His nature and His attributes very God. But Christ, in order that human beings might be able to see what God is like in tangible form, became a human for all eternity future. This introduction to the Gospel of John concludes, “No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us” (John 1:18).

Do you wonder what the Father is like? Make a study of Christ. Do you wonder how God could be a God of grace, at the same time both gentle and full of justice and purity? Look at Christ. He shares the Father’s divine nature, and He explains it and models it in perfect terms so that we can grasp the person of the Father.

The world didn’t recognize the One who created it. Do we?

Learn more about the Swindoll Study Bible

“And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.” Luke 2: 6-7, NLT

Article from the Illustrated Study Bible

Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus is a study in contrasts. On the one side is the lowliness of the birth. A poor peasant couple makes their way to their ancestral home of Bethlehem to register for a census imposed on them by the oppressive Roman Empire. Their journey is a long and hard one from Galilee, and when they arrive they can find no place of lodging. They are consigned to a place reserved for animals. There is a sense of poverty, rejection and obscurity. At the birth of the child, announcements are sent not to great kings or to the rich and powerful, but to lowly shepherds watching their flocks in the field.

Yet beside this humble lowliness is a message of unspeakable power and grandeur. The child who is laid in a manger is the Messiah, the long-awaited descendant of King David. He will reign triumphant over the people of Israel and his kingdom will never end. He is the one spoken about by all the prophets. All of history has been pointing forward to its climax in him. An army of mighty angels comes from heaven to announce his birth.

These contrasts are a foretaste of things to come. In Jesus, the God of Israel and Lord of all the earth has come to visit and to save his people. The Divine One reaches down to meet them where they are. Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus will show special concern for the lowly, the poor, the outcast, and sinners. These are the ones he has come to

save because they recognize their need for him. They receive the message of salvation with joy and rejoicing.

The contrast between lowliness and exaltation also relates to Jesus’ mission. Though wicked people reject him and put him to death, Jesus is vindicated at his resurrection.

n and exalted to the right hand of God, where he reigns as Lord and Messiah. From there he pours out the Spirit of God to guide and direct his church. Through Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and exaltation Jesus provides

forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all those who respond in faith to him.

Learn more about the Illustrated Study Bible

“When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.” Matthew 1:24, NLT

Profile from the Life Application Study Bible

The strength of what we believe is measured by how much we are willing to suffer for our beliefs. Joseph was a man with strong beliefs. He was prepared to do what was right, despite the pain he knew it would cause to someone he loved and to himself. But Joseph had another great quality:

He not only tried to do what was right but also tried to do it in the right way.

When Mary told Joseph about her pregnancy, Joseph knew the child was not his. His respect for Mary’s character and her sincere explanation, as well as her attitude toward the expected child, must have made it hard to think his bride had done something wrong. Still, someone else was the child’s father—and it was mind-boggling to accept that the “someone else” was God.

Joseph decided he had to break the engagement, but he was determined to do it in a way that would not cause Mary public shame. He intended to act with justice and love.

At this point, God sent a messenger to Joseph to confirm Mary’s story and open another way of obedience for Joseph—to take Mary as his wife. Joseph obeyed God, married Mary, and honored her virginity until after the baby was born. Joseph’s role as guardian of God’s Son and of Mary is clearly seen in his response to the dream in which the angel of the Lord instructed him to flee to Egypt. Joseph immediately obeyed, leading his family to Egypt in order to escape from Herod and later returning to settle in Nazareth instead of going back to Bethlehem.

We do not know how long Joseph lived his role as Jesus’ earthly father—he is last mentioned when Jesus was 12 years old. But Joseph taught his son the trade of carpentry, made sure he had good spiritual training in Nazareth, and took the whole family on the yearly trip to Jerusalem for the Passover, which Jesus continued to observe during his adult years.

Joseph knew Jesus was someone special from the moment he heard the angel’s words. His strong belief in that fact and his willingness to follow God’s leading empowered him to be Jesus’ chosen earthly father.

Learn more about the Life Application Study Bible