The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher (John 20:1).

No star. No angels. No shepherds. No wise men. No mention of Bethlehem or Mary and Joseph. No compelling story of the babe in a manger. No genealogy of Jesus to introduce His birth. No elaborate “Christmas Story” describing the events preceding and surrounding the birth of Jesus.

John the Apostle does none of these things when he begins to tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth.

The concept of what comprises a gene and how it works has changed markedly since the beginning of the modern genomics era about 35 years ago when the first viral gene was sequenced.¹ Since then, entire microbial, plant, and animal genomes have been sequenced.