What Is The Christmas Story And Why Do We Need To Know It?

 

Adoration of the Shepherds, Gerard van Honthorst

"The birth of Christ is the central event in the history of the earth - the very thing the whole story has been about."~ C.S. Lewis

You probably have heard the Christmas story in some degree, hopefully more than from Linus in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" when you were younger.  Please consider, as you read, each part of this incredible story and capture the astonishment of the miracles it contains.  I found some amazing paintings depicting different parts of it that I wanted to share with you.  

Jesus' birth was foretold to Mary

by an angel.

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David..  And the virgin's name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" (Luke 1:26-28)

  

"And the angel said to her, :"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High." (Luke 1:30-32)

An angel tells Joseph in a dream that his betrothed, Mary, will be the mother of our Savior, Jesus.

"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 that which is 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."  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken from the prophet: Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel (which means "God with us").  When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son.  And he called His name Jesus." (Matt 1:20-25)

Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, whose baby inside her leapt at Mary's greeting because they knew that Mary was the mother of the Lord who was coming to save people from their sins.

"At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.  When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!  But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.  Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her!" (Luke 1:39-45)

     

To register for the required census, Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem.  

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  And everyone went to their own town to register.  So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.," He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child." (Luke 2:1-5)

There was no room anywhere, so Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable, where He was placed in a manger.

  

"While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them." (Luke 2:6-7)

An angel appeared to the shepherds in the fields and told them first of Jesus' birth.

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you; You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (Luke 2:8-12)

When the magi heard about His birth, they came to worship Him and bring Him gifts from afar.

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, the Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." (Matt 2: 1-2)

  

"After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  (Matt 2:9-11)

 The Christmas story (Jesus' birth) was written for you and me, out of the endless Love of God, who sent His perfect Son to leave perfect Heaven to come down to our broken world.  He knew it meant He would be treated unfairly, brutally murdered-for nothing He had done.  But He also knew He would/will change people's lives: value the undervalued, encourage the despondent, heal the sick, love the unwanted, and defeat death-all so we can have eternal life with our Heavenly Father again.  It's not just a birthday.  It's THE birthday.  It's not just a story.  It's THE story.

 

 Happy Birthday Jesus.  

✙ Dear Heavenly Father, how incredibly painful it must have been for You to watch this happen to Your Son, and lovingly do it for us anyway.  Help us to not make this a trivial, inconsequential "holiday", but a season of gratitude and deep joy for what You gave up for us, so we could have You.  Hear our thanks as worship to You.  Amen.