The manager scene is a reminder of the reason Christians celebrate this wondrous season — the birth of Jesus Christ. (File photo)
Long before Santa Claus hijacked the holiday, Christmas has been the day Christians world-wide celebrate the birth of their Savior, Jesus Christ.
Before Christmas trees, or stockings hung by the fireplace with care; there was no room at the inn, a manger, and a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes against the chill of the night.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,” declared the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 9:6), in just one of 300 prophecies about the birth of Jesus in the Old Testament.
The first four books of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, detail the birth of Jesus.
The Angel Gabriel visits Jesus’ mother, Mary, to tell her she has found favor with God and has been chosen to carry the Savior of the world in her womb.
Confused, Mary asks Gabriel how this could be possible as she is a virgin.
“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. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end,” the angel tells Mary.
Next, Gabriel explains, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.”
Mary, who was a virgin, was also engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. In those days, women who became pregnant outside of marriage were subject to stoning as punishment.
Knowing this, Mary still said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
When Joseph found out about his future wife’s pregnancy, he sought to end their engagement quietly, so as not to bring shame upon her.
Not long after considering this, Joseph is visited by an angel in a dream who tells him, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save His people from their sins.”
While Mary is very pregnant, a decree goes out from Caesar Augustus declaring all the world must be registered, each person is to travel to his hometown and be counted.
Despite Mary’s delicate condition, she and Joseph head to Galilee, traveling from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, fulfilling the word of the prophet Micah (5:2) who declared the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
When Joseph and Mary arrive in Bethlehem, they find no one willing to take them in and all the inns are full.
One innkeeper shows mercy on the couple and offers them shelter in his barn with the animals.
While Mary is giving birth, three nearby shepherds are also visited by an angel.
Understandably alarmed, the shepherds are fearful.
“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger,” the angel explains to the three frightened men.
No longer scared, the sheppards decide, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
Meanwhile, three wisemen have been watching the night sky and immediately notice the Star of Bethlehem shining brightly, alerting them to the birth of the King of the Jews.
Following the star so they may bless the new king with gifts, it is not long before their travels take them to the palace of King Herod, who is not happy to hear a threat to his throne has been born.
Herod politely inquires of them where the new king has been born, with the intent of hunting the baby down and murdering him before he can challenge his tenuous claim to the throne.
“In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet,” responded the wise men.
The wiley king next asks the wise men to let him know where the child is so that he may honor him too.
Following the star, the wise men have no trouble locating Jesus, and when they find him, they bestow gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh on him. Warned in a dream King Herod actually wished to harm the child, the wise men do not go back to the king, instead going their own way back to their homes.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
