The Nativity Story

Luke Chapter 1: 26 (KJV)

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27.) To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name [was] Mary.
28.) And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, [thou that art] highly favoured, the Lord [is] with thee: blessed [art] thou among women.
29.) And when she saw [him], she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30.) And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31.) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32.) He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33.) And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34.) Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35.) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36.) And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37.) For with God nothing shall be impossible.
38.) And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Imagine being visited by an angel who tells you that you will give birth to the worlds Savior.
Mary asked one question "how can this be, I have been with no man?"

I love the fact that he answered her question and she accepted it. She believed God and because she believed him she conceived. It took great strength of character to accept all of this and the consequences were hard to deal with.

It is just so amazing to me, I doubt that I would have been able to handle it at all.

Now Mary had to go to her betrothed Joseph and tell him that she was with child.
In my opinion this took great courage, she did not know how he would react.

Joseph was going to have her put away, he did not wish her to be harmed. But then an angel visited him in a dream and told him what he must do.

Read about Josephs dream at Matthew 1:18-25 in the King James Bible.

Scripture taken from Luke 1:26-38 King James Bible

Luke 2: 1 (KJV)

A nd it came to pass in those days,
that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus,
that all the world should be taxed.

2.) ([And] this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4.) And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5.) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6.) And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7.) And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8.) And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9.) And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

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10.) And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11.) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12.) And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13.) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14.) Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men
15.) And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16.) And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17.) And when they had seen [it], they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18.) And all they that heard [it] wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19.) But Mary kept all these things, and pondered [them] in her heart.

20.) And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.



Now Mary was in her ninth month of pregnancy. Imagine riding on a donkey a long way possibly in labor. It may have been a good thing for Mary to leave her hometown to deliver. There must have been much gossip about how she had conceived and her life may have been in danger.

We have many comforts today and just do not realize what others have went through. We should consider this and allow it to put our own lives into perspective.

The shepherds were very frightened when the angel appeared to them.
They were told not to be afraid because the Savior had been born. After many heavenly hosts appeared to rejoice his birth they hurried to see him who came to save the whole earth.

To say they were probably shocked by the angels appearance and were giddy with excitement about all of this is most likely an understatement.

Scripture from Luke 2:1-20 King James Bible

Matthew 2: 1 (KJV)

N ow when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2.) Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3.) When Herod the king had heard [these things], he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4.) And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5.) And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6.) And thou Bethlehem, [in] the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

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7.) Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8.) And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found [him], bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9.) When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10.) When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11.) And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
12.) And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

13.) And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14.) When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

Now the Magi were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod. His intent was evil and he planned to kill Jesus. Danger was all around him and yet it was a time for rejoicing.

Mary and Joseph went through great trials in order to bring forth and protect Jesus when he was born and as a young child. Wandering through Egypt must have been difficult.

Many things being orchestrated by God the Father to bring them through in safety. They must have relied heavily on God and each other during these times.

I have always loved this story even as a little child I always marveled at how God was born a baby and walked among us because he loves us so much.

How awesome is that!

Scripture from Matthew 2:1-14 (KJV)