For Christians the magic of Christmas isn’t found wrapped up with a bow inside a box under their tree Christmas morning nor is it carried by Santa’s sleigh the night before. The true magic of Christmas is found in the story of a special birth inside a lowly manger in Bethlehem.
“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 are devoted to chronically the story of Jesus’s life, and accounts of the Christmas story can be found in Matthew and Luke.
Born of a virgin, Jesus’ birth was heralded by the angel Gabriel, who appeared before Jesus’ mother Mary to tell her she found favor with God. Because of her virtue, Gabriel tells Mary she will carry the savior of the world in her womb.
Confused, Mary reminds Gabriel she is still a virgin and asks him how such a thing could be possible.
Answering her question, 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.”
Next, Gabriel tells Mary what she must name her son.
“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, who was also engaged to be married to a man named Joseph.
In those days, women who became pregnant outside of marriage were subject to death by stoning as punishment.
Knowing this, Mary bravely answered, “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 was not on board with Mary’s story about “divine conception,” instead he sought to end their engagement quietly, so as not to bring shame upon her.
Not long after Mary confided in him, Joseph was visited by an angel in a dream. The angel told 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 was very pregnant, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus declaring everyone must take part in a census. Each person was to travel to his hometown and be counted, even heavily pregnant ones.
Following government orders, Mary and Joseph head to Galilee, traveling from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, their arduous journey fulfilling the words 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 no vacancies anywhere. Showing the young couple mercy, one innkeeper offers them shelter in his stable.
While Mary is giving birth in Bethlehem, three nearby shepherds are also visited by an angel.
“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 shepherds.
After hearing from the angel, the shepherds 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 to find Mary and Joseph, and the baby Jesus lying in a manger.
Meanwhile, three wisemen were watching the night sky. They noticed the Star of Bethlehem shining brightly. As wisemen, the three instantly recognized the overly bright star as a sign announcing to the world the birth of the King of the Jews.
The three wisemen decide they must follow the star so they can bestow gifts of goodwill upon the infant prince. It is not long before their travels take them to the palace of King Herod, who was not happy to hear a threat to his throne had been born.
Remembered for being conniving and ruthless, the wily old king politely asked the wisemen where he could find the baby so he too could offer the child a gift, though King Herod’s real agenda was to hunt the baby down and murder him before he could come of age and challenge his tenuous claim to the throne.
“In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet,” responded the wise men.
When King Herod asked them to provide him with location specifics after they visited with the new king, the three wisemen agreed to stop by the palace on their way home and inform him of where the baby could be found.
Continuing to follow the star, the wise men had no trouble finding Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes inside a manger in Bethlehem.
After honoring the babe with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, the trio were warned in a dream that King Herod planned to harm the child, so the wise men decide not to stop back by the palace, going their own way back home instead.
Savior to the world, Jesus was born God in human form. He lived and suffered through this life as we do- finding love, trials, and triumphs along the way- because in His story is also our story. The God who loved His creation so much He came to live amongst them, teach them a better way, and then lay down his life for each and every one of them, offered one special gift: salvation.
When Jesus declared from the cross “It is finished,” those three words echoed into history, leading to the salvation of untold billions.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).