It is Christmastime, a time for joyous celebrations the world over, by people of religion and those of various persuasions. A popular Christmas song played on radio and in shopping malls tells us:
Long time ago in Bethlehem | So the Holy Bible says | Mary’s boy child Jesus Christ | Was born on Christmas Day | Hark now hear the angels sing | A new King’s born today | And man will live forevermore | Because of Christmas Day.[1]
Many are familiar with the story of Christmas. For those who might not be familiar, the following is a brief recount of the story. It revolves around the birth of Jesus, who would later receive the title “Christ” which means “anointed one”. We are told in the Bible that a virgin, Mary, received an angelic visit which announced to her that she would be with child through the Holy Spirit. She was at the time pledged to be married to Joseph, who in a dream was informed by an angel to not be afraid to take Mary as his wife, and that the child in her was from the Holy Spirit and was to be named Jesus. Joseph and Mary did not consummate their marriage until after Mary had given birth to Jesus.[2]
Thus, we are told that Jesus was no ordinary child. Not only was his conception miraculous, it was also foretold for many centuries prior in the Jewish scriptures. The Bible as we have it today consists the Old Testament and the New Testament, the former being Jewish scriptures written before the birth of Jesus, and the latter being Christian scriptures written after the birth of Jesus. A familiar prophecy of the birth of Jesus is found in the writings of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and you will call him Immanuel.”[3] This prophecy was quoted in the New Testament story of the birth of Jesus: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).”[4]
The birth of Jesus took place in Bethlehem in Judea, in fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy.[5] By royal decree of Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of the entire Roman world, everyone had to go to their own town to register. Joseph, a descendant of David, had his roots in Bethlehem (also called the town of David), and so went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea, travelling there with Mary who was pregnant with her child Jesus. While in Bethlehem, Jesus was born. Probably because a lot of people had returned to Bethlehem for the census, there was no guest room available for Joseph and Mary, hence the reason the newborn Jesus was placed in a manger (a trough used to feed farm animals).[6]
Shepherds living out in the fields nearby were keeping watch over their flock at night when the unexpected happened to them: They received an angelic visitation which announced 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 Saviour 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.” The Bible records that the shepherds also witnessed a multitude of the heavenly host appearing saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” The shepherds found Mary and Joseph, and the baby Jesus lying in the manger, just as the angels had told them, and later spread the news concerning what had been told them about this child, amazing all who heard them.[7]
The birth of Jesus did not escape the attention of people from foreign lands. Magi, known as “wise men from the east”, travelled to Jerusalem enquiring, “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.” The Magi were not Jews, were from a land east of Israel, and appeared to have been men of nobility and wealth — they could have been men from Persia, Babylon, India or further east. Led by the star, they found the house where Jesus was in Bethlehem. Upon entering and seeing the baby with his mother, the Magi fell down and worshipped Jesus, and brought out of their treasures gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to present to him.[8]
Meanwhile, a sinister plot was being hatched in Jerusalem by King Herod, the Roman-appointed king over Judea. Judea and Israel had previously been ruled by kings descended from David, who was king over Judea 1000 years prior. Herod did not come from the bloodline of David. When Herod heard about the Messiah’s birth from the Magi, he became disturbed and found out from the Jewish chief priests and teachers that the scriptures prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem in Judea. He met the Magi in secret, and enquired diligently of them when the star appeared. He then sent them on their way to Bethlehem, asking that they report to him once they had found the Messiah so that he too could go and worship him. When the Magi did not return to Herod (they were warned in a dream not to), Herod gave the order to kill all the boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity, in a sweeping attempt to kill the baby Messiah. This fulfilled a dark prophecy in the Old Testament by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”[9] Joseph had been warned in a dream that Herod was going to search for the child Jesus to kill him, and escaped with Jesus and Mary to Egypt where they stayed until the death of Herod, which fulfilled another Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[10]
After Herod died, Joseph had a dream in which an angel told him, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” Joseph therefore brought the child Jesus and his mother Mary back to the land of Israel. Because he was fearful of Archaelaus who was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, Joseph went to the district of Galilee and lived in a town called Nazareth, thereby fulfilling prophecy that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.[11]
Thus, we have the biblical story of the birth of Jesus Christ, the prophecies it fulfilled, the plot to murder him as a baby, and how he would grow up to be known as Jesus of Nazareth. The birth of Jesus Christ is significant not from a religious perspective exclusively, but also from a historical perspective. This year is AD 2021. AD is short for Anno Domini, which means “in the year of the Lord” — the Lord being a reference to Jesus Christ. Each year in time is counted from the birth of Jesus Christ, which divides time into BC and AD. It was a birth foretold in the Hebrew scriptures, followed by wise men from the orient, announced by angels, celebrated by rugged shepherds, and that a king tried unsuccessfully to erase from history. This is a short origins story of Christmas based on the Bible. As there is no running away from reference to him in our calendar, we might as well learn something about Jesus Christ. I hope you have found this article worthwhile. Merry Christmas 2021.
Footnotes
[1] “Mary’s Boy Child” written by Jester Hairston in 1956.
[2] Story found in the New Testament book of Matthew, chapter 1 verses 18–24 (Matthew 1:18–24).
[3] Old Testament book of Isaiah, chapter 7 verse 14 (Isaiah 7:14), written 7 centuries before the birth of Jesus.
[4] Matthew 1:22–23.
[5] “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2).
[6] Luke 2:1–7.
[7] Luke 2:8–20.
[8] Matthew 2:1–11.
[9] Jeremiah 31:15
[10] Matthew 2:1–18.
[11] Matthew 2: 19–23.