Christmas 2020 will be the strangest one you’ll ever experience, I would imagine. Memories of Christmas pasts with family, friends, parties, and traditions may be very different this year. Living in a pandemic has taken a toll on our normal way of life and may continue to do so for a while.
Christmas for many is the “most wonderful time of the year,” and for others, it’s the saddest time, because of the loss of a loved one, or the lack of resources to pay bills and buy gifts. Yesterday, I lost my Uncle who one week ago went into the hospital. It’s a sad time for my family and me because we didn’t get to say goodbye and we will miss him. However, my Uncle knew Jesus and I know that physical death is not the end, because of the true meaning of Christmas. I can have joy knowing that He is healed, is in the presence of God, and I will see him again.
The Christmas story is about God's love for you and me. God loved you (the world) so much that He sent His only Son Jesus to pay the price for our sins (death on the cross) so that we could have the free gift of eternal life and have a personal relationship with Him if we believe and receive Him as our Savior. (John 3:16)
Some Bible scholars believe that there are over 300 prophesies about Jesus in the old testament. I have not personally gone through the old testament to count and verify that number, but you can read a couple of them in Isaiah. The birth of a savior was written about 700 years before Jesus' birth.
Read Isaiah 7:14 and see the fulfillment in Matthew 1:23 ( a virgin will conceive and have a son and call His name Immanuel - God with us); Isaiah 9:6 and Isaiah 61:1 and fulfilled in Luke 2:11 (Jesus' birth as son and Messiah).
You can read the Christmas story in both the gospel of Matthew and the gospel of Luke. Matthew proves that Jesus was the fulfillment of the old testament prophecies of a coming savior. Luke gives an accurate historical account of the life of Jesus Christ.
Read the accounts yourself in your own Bible or online. Here is my summary combining both.
The Christmas Story
The Virgin Mary Conceives a Baby
Mary, a young virgin, was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. The Angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her that she was highly favored of God and that she would conceive and have a baby by the Holy Spirit. This baby, a son, would save His people from their sins. She asked how this could happen since she had not had any sexual relations with any man, she was a virgin. The Angel said she would conceive by the Holy Spirit. She agreed and said “let it be as you have said.” She conceived.
When Joseph found out Mary was pregnant, he did not want to publicly shame her so he thought he would secretly divorce her. The angel of the Lord, appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, because the baby within her was of the Holy Spirit and He would save his people from their sins. Joseph listened to the angel, took Mary as his wife, and did not have physical relations with her until after the baby Jesus was born.
Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem
During this time in history, the Roman empire was in control of the land of Israel. There was a census and the citizens were to return to their family’s place of birth to be counted in the census. Joseph was from the house of David so he and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem from their town of Nazareth. When they got to Bethlehem they could not find a room at the inn (hotel). The inn keeper allowed them to stay in a stable.
Jesus is Born
While staying in the stable, Mary gives birth to Jesus and wraps him in swaddling clothes, and puts him in a manger (box or trough used to hold hay/food for livestock).
Shepherds and Angels
“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.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels left and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us. They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. After seeing him they spread the word about their experiences and people were amazed. Mary treasured up all these things and kept them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen.
Wise Men (Magi) from the East see the Unusual Star (sign) in the Heavens
Around the same time, in another land, there were wise men in the East that saw a very bright star in the sky. They were highly educated in astronomy and history. Around 530 BC Daniel in the Bible was living in captivity in Babylon (Persia/Iran) with many other Jews. Daniel was wise and gifted and had been chosen to be one of the advisors and wise men to the king. The king had a disturbing dream and commanded all his Babylonian wise men to reveal and interpret his dream. When they could not, the king ordered all the wise men to be killed including Daniel and other Jews. Daniel heard about this and told the king that he would ask God to reveal the dream and its interpretation. Only Daniel, through his God, could accurately reveal the dream and give the interpretation to the king. Daniel saved all the wise men from being killed.
Hundreds of years later wise men from the east noticed a bright star in the sky. Knowing their history of Daniel and his prophecies about the Messiah, they knew that the Messiah, the King of the Jews, had been born. They packed gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and started on their journey to find the child so they could worship him. They traveled to Jerusalem and inquired of King Herod “where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” Although they knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem they assumed that he would be in a king’s palace. Herod told them to go, find the child, and let him know so that he could go and worship him as well. (Herod was lying, he did not want someone to take his place.)
The wise men continued to follow the star and when they saw the star stop over the place Jesus lived, they were extremely happy. They saw Jesus, fell down, and worshipped him, and gave their gifts. After being warned in a dream they did not return to Herod but went home another way.
The Escape to Egypt
When the wise men left, Joseph had a dream warning him to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt and to stay there until he was told. The dream said that Herod was about to search for the child to kill him. Joseph did as he was told and remained in Egypt until the death of Herod.. The family moved to Nazareth where Jesus grew up.
The good news is that Jesus came to restore our relationship with God the Father. His birth was just the beginning. Although born King of the Jews, Jesus was born with humble beginnings. It’s interesting that God chose lowly shepherds watching sheep and wealthy wise men announce Jesus’ birth.
Although Jesus was God in a human form, he began His life as a baby, grew as a child, and lived as an adult man, but without sin. He lived like you and me with feelings, emotions, temptations, and compassion. Unlike us, He lived a perfect life.
When Jesus began His ministry at age 30, He healed the sick, raised the dead, performed miracles, and freed people from demonic bondage and sin. Jesus experienced betrayal by someone close to him, he was ridiculed by the religious elite, was accused unjustly, and died a horrible death on a cross at age 33. Jesus had the choice of doing the will of His heavenly Father, going to the cross, and dying a horrible death. He chose us (world) because He loved us more than we can ever imagine. He willingly laid down His life and took our sins, our sicknesses, our diseases, our brokenness, and received our punishment on Himself. Jesus died so we could receive total forgiveness, be healed physically and emotionally, live an abundant life on earth, and have eternal life in heaven when we leave this physical world. To seal the deal, God raised Jesus from the dead three days after He died on the cross. He was seen by many eyewitnesses including His disciples and another 500 people when He ascended into heaven.
Before Jesus went up into heaven He promised to send us the comforter, His Holy Spirit. Jesus promised to never leave us or forsake us. We can celebrate Christmas with peace and joy knowing that God loves us so much and wants to help us in every area of our lives. He wants us to believe in Jesus and receive Him as our personal savior and grow in our relationship with Him
Just like Jesus, we have free will and it is our choice to choose to receive the free gift from God or reject it and live our lives the way we please. The Christmas story is truly about God’s love for you and me.
Let's spread the good news this Christmas season. God bless you.
The Christmas Story: Letter 1