The Birth of Jesus
The Birth of Jesus
Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2
An Angel Visits Mary
The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary    and said, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You    will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He    will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High." (TNIV)
One day about 2,000 years ago an angel named Gabriel appeared to a young Jewish woman named Mary. Gabriel told Mary she would have a son, Jesus, who would be the  Son of God! Mary was confused and worried about this sudden news, but she had faith  in God and said, "I am the Lord's servant; let it be as you say."
Journey to Bethlehem
Mary and her husband-to-be, Joseph, lived in a town called Nazareth. But they  had to travel to the city of Bethlehem to register for a census ordered by the Roman  emperor, Caesar Augustus. Both Nazareth and Bethlehem are in the country now called  Israel. It is about 65 miles (105 km) from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and the trip probably  took them several days.
When Joseph and Mary got to Bethlehem, there was no place for them to stay because  the inn was already full. They ended up spending the night in a stable, a place  where animals were kept. There was probably fresh hay on the floor that they used  for beds.
That night, Jesus was born. There was no crib, so they laid baby Jesus in a manger,  a feeding trough for animals. The manger probably had fresh hay in it and made a  nice bed for the baby.
Shepherds Visit Jesus
Jesus was born in a stable and laid    to sleep in a manger. The shepherds came to see firsthand the things the    angel had told them.
That night, some shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem, keeping watch over their flocks of sheep. An angel appeared to them and gave them the good news that  a Savior, the Messiah, had been born. The angel told the shepherds they could find  Jesus lying in a manger. Suddenly a whole group of angels appeared saying, "Glory  to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
The shepherds hurried into Bethlehem and found Jesus in the manger, just as the  angel had told them. After they had seen Jesus, they spread the news, and everyone  who heard was in awe.
Wise Men Visit Jesus
Wise men from the East came to worship    Jesus, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Some time later, wise men, or magi, from eastern countries saw a star in the sky that signaled the birth of a new king. They came to Judea, the region around  Jerusalem and Bethlehem, to worship Jesus, the new king.
A man named Herod was the king of Judea. He called the wise men to a meeting  and told them to find the new king so he could go and worship him, too.
The wise men continued on to Bethlehem and followed the star until it was directly  above the house where Jesus was. They found Mary and Jesus in the house and knelt  down to worship Him. They brought Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh,  some of the finest things in the ancient world. Frankincense was burned to make  a sweet smell, and myrrh was an expensive perfume.
After visiting Jesus, the wise men had a dream that warned them not to go back  to King Herod, so they took a different route home.
Journey to Egypt
King Herod lied when he told the wise men he wanted to worship Jesus. He was  afraid this new "king" would replace him as king of Judea. He did not  understand that Jesus would grow up to be king of God's spiritual kingdom, not king  of Judea.
What Herod really wanted was to find Jesus and kill Him! Herod was furious when  he realized the wise men had not come back to tell him where to find Jesus. He sent  his soldiers to Bethlehem to kill all the children under two years old, thinking  Jesus would certainly be one of the ones killed.
But God had told Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt. Joseph took Mary and Jesus  to live in Egypt where they would be safe from Herod. Joseph, Mary and Jesus stayed  in Egypt until Herod had died, and then they returned to Nazareth.
Question
Was Jesus born on Christmas day? We celebrate Jesus' birth on Christmas, but  no one really knows what day Jesus was born, or even exactly what year. In 336 A.D.,  the Western Church, based in Rome, chose December 25 to celebrate as Christmas,  meaning "Christ's Mass." The Eastern Church chose January 6. The day was  named Epiphany, meaning "appearance." Eventually the period from December  25 to January 6 became known as the Twelve Days of Christmas.
Lessons
The stories of Jesus' birth link to both the past and the future. The circumstances  of Jesus' birth show He fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of a Messiah ( Isaiah  7:14 , Matthew 1:23 ). He was born in Bethlehem ( Micah 5:2 , Matthew 2:5-6 ). He was  called out of Egypt ( Hosea 11:1 , Matthew 2:15 ).
Jesus was born in a stable - the most humble of circumstances. Similarly, Jesus  showed us how God's favor rests with the poor and downtrodden. The Gentile wise  men came to worship Jesus. Later, the Gentiles would make up most of the Christian  world. Herod's attempt to kill Jesus foreshadows Jesus' crucifixion about 33 years  later.