The First Christmas...
...the account unfolds
The build up to the first Christmas started hundreds of years beforehand. God promised that 'someone' was going to come. A Human being, born of a woman yet the Son of God, descended through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David. Many other attributes and characteristics of this coming-one were also revealed before it happened (see Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophesies) yet still the people of God waited and hoped for this Messiah, until...
Jesus birth is announced Luke 1 v 26-38
Mary may have been just a teenager at this time. It had already been agreed that she would marry Joseph, her engagement probably arranged by her parents. She would have been brought up, as all Jews were, to expect the coming of the Messiah, the promised one, but otherwise she was just an ordinary village girl.
Nothing would have prepared her for the visit of an angel however, and what a message he brought! She was to be the mother of the Messiah! Her reactions are understandable - surprise, fear, and questions! But the angel Gabriel reassures her and explains what is planned. The Holy Spirit of God would conceive the baby so he would really be the Son of God. God himself was becoming a man and living among us!
Look at the names and titles Jesus is given here. Jesus (which means, Saviour); Great; Son of the most High; Son of David; a King forever!
Despite her surprise and fear Mary accepted what was told her. Above all she wanted to be God's servant.
When God surprises you by doing something unexpected or something you do not understand - such as coming as a baby and growing to be a man - do you accept it, like Mary, or reject it?
Elizabeth's Song Luke 1 v 39-45
Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth. The Holy Spirit first reveals the presence of Jesus to the baby in Elizabeth's womb - and then to Elizabeth herself. She goes on to praise God and bless Mary for what is going to happen through her.
Mary Praises God Luke 1 v 46-56
In her turn Mary praises God for all he has done and will do. She praise God for his goodness to her personally (v46-49), and for his mercy to all those who fear Him (v50), for His concern for all who are oppressed and especially for his chosen people Israel (v 54-55).
Notice how Mary has moved on from her initial troubled feeling to a position of full trust and faith in God and what he was going to do through her child.
Joseph is told about the baby Matt 1 v 18-24
In Jewish society the engagement was (and still is) legally binding in law and could only be dissolved by a formal divorce. Imagine Joseph's hurt and anguish therefore when he discovered that Mary was pregnant. Despite this he still did not want to publicly humiliate her and started to consider how to break the engagement quietly. God however, was as concerned for Joseph as for Mary. He wanted them to raise His son together so he arranged for the same angel to visit Joseph and reassure his as to what was going on. Joseph decides to accept Mary as his wife and continues with the engagement. By becoming Mary's husband Joseph becomes the legal father of Jesus so fulfilling the prophesy that he would be of the family line of David.
Jesus is born Luke 2 v 1-7; Matt 1 v 25
Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth but the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem. How was this to occur? The roman emperor of that time (Augustus) had decreed that there would be a census and for this everyone had to go to the town of their ancestors to be counted and taxed. Joseph is of the line of David and David's city is Bethlehem, so that is where they go. When they arrive the town is full, there is no room left in the inn, so they finish up staying in a stable and Mary has her first child there, and laid him in a manger (the feeding trough for the animals).
Angels tell some Shepherds Luke 2 v 8-20
The first to hear of the birth of the Messiah are shepherds keeping watch over their sheep during the night. Not everyone (as we shall see) was pleased by the coming of Jesus - but God's angels were overjoyed. One of them appeared to this group of shepherds - they were terrified - but clearly understood the angel when he told them the Saviour, Christ the Lord had been born in Bethlehem.
The shepherds go to Bethlehem, looking for the child wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. When they find him they spread the news throughout the town, passing on what the angels had said and how they found the baby. Mary remembered all these things and thought deeply about them (which is why she could tell Luke about it years later) and the shepherds praised God for what he had done. Do you?
Circumcision and Naming Luke 2 v 21
The Jewish law states that every male child is to be circumcised on the eighth day after birth. Mary and Joseph took Jesus on the appointed day to have this done. This was the time to give him his name, and they called him Jesus - the name the angel had told Mary to call him - "for he will save people from their sins".
Have you asked Jesus to save you from your sins?
Dedication & Purification Luke 2 v 22-38
After forty days (during which time they would have stayed in the Bethlehem area) Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem to perform the rite of purification. Every first born male child was to be dedicated to the Lord. First born male children had to be redeemed - bought back - by an offering to God. They brought a gift of two doves or pigeons (in accordance with the law). Since this was the least gift the law allowed we know that Mary and Joseph were very poor people.
Simeon and Anna
In the temple that day Jesus is greeted by two people. Simeon, an old man, had been promised by God's Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the promised Messiah come. Prompted by the Spirit he is there at exactly the right time, and seeing the child, praises God for keeping his promise. Simeon spoke to Mary and Joseph about what the child would be and do when he grew up. Also present was an old lady, Anna. She gave thanks for the child and spoke about him to all who looked forward to God saving his people. Already word about Jesus is beginning to spread through the community.
Wise Men follow a star... Matt 2 v 1-12
In his account Matthew tells us of the visit of the wise men. Probably astrologers, they see a star that leads them to look for a new King in Jerusalem. Herod, the current king, is particularly concerned at hearing of a new king. He consults the priests who, quite correctly, refer to the old testament prophesies that say the king will be born in Bethlehem. Herod sends the wise men to Bethlehem with instructions to return and tell him where they found him - so he can worship him too!
... and bring Gifts
The wise men find the child, worship him and offer him the gifts they have brought; Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. This is our only clue to the possible number of the wise men. Notice too that the child is now in a house (v10). Mary and Joseph are apparently no longer living in the stable. It may be that the wise men's visit is anything up to two years after Jesus birth. Yet it seems they are still living in Bethlehem.
Finally, warned by God in a dream, the wise men leave for home without returning to report to Herod.
The family escape to Egypt Matt 2 v 13-15
When the wise men are gone an angel warns Joseph of the murder being planned by Herod. He takes Mary and the child, by night, and escapes to Egypt.
Slaughter in Bethlehem! Matt 2 v 16-18
When Herod discovers that he has been tricked by the wise men he is angry and he orders soldiers to kill all the baby boys in the Bethlehem area who are two years old and under. He unwittingly fulfils the prophesy of Jeremiah who had predicted the event.
People often wonder how God could allow such a thing to happen. Yet the blame for this atrocity lies fully with Herod, not God. God has given us free will and if we do not accept the King God has given us - King Jesus - we are all capable of breaking God's law and God's heart. The Bible warns us that far from getting away with it (even when it seems as though we do in this life), one day we must all stand before God and give and account of our actions and thoughts. Surely we will all need a Saviour on that day.
The Return from Egypt Matt 2 v 19-23; Luke 2 v 39-40
Some time (perhaps years) later Herod dies and in a dream Joseph is told he may return to Israel where he settles in Nazareth. There Jesus grew up. He was a normal child in every respect yet he kept "advancing" in wisdom and growth and skill as he learned Joseph's trade and what God required of him in later life.