teachings,+the+christmas+story

The Christmas Story
(Atreyu)

Now this is how the birth of Jesus came about: our story begins with a Jewish priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. They were both devout and righteous in God’s eye, careful to obey God’s commands. However, they had no children and were very old. One day, as Zechariah was in the Temple Courts burning incense and praying, many people stood outside praying. As Zechariah was burning incense, an Angel appeared to him saying, “Don’t be afraid Zechariah! For God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will have a son. You are to name him John. He must never touch wine or hard liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. And he will persuade many Israelites to turn to the Lord, preparing the people for his arrival.”

Zechariah said to the Angel, “How can this be? I’m an old man now, and my wife is as well.”

Then the Angel said to him, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! And now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time.”

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out, wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he was unable to speak to them. They realized from his gestures that he had seen a vision in the Temple Sanctuary. Soon afterward his wife Elizabeth became pregnant. “How kind the Lord is,” she exclaimed, “He has taken away my disgrace of having on children.” Then, in about Elizabeth’s sixth month, an Angel appeared to a young girl named Mary, who was engaged to be married to Joseph, a Carpenter from Nazareth, and a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings favored woman! The Lord is with you.”

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the Angel could mean. “Don’t be scared Mary, for God has decided to bless you! You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his kingdom will have no end.”

Mary said to the Angel, “But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin.”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you. So the baby to be borne to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! She is already in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true.” And then the angel left. All this happened to fulfill the prophecy:

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child. She will give birth to a son and he will be called Immanuel.” (Meaning God with us)

A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leapt inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “You are blessed by God above all other women, and your child is blessed. What an honor this is, that the mother of my Lord should come visit me! When you came in and greeted me, my baby jumped for joy the instant I heard your voice! You are blessed, because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, then returned home.

Now the time came for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, and it was a boy. The word spread quickly to her neighbors and relatives that the Lord had been kind to her and everyone rejoiced with her.

When the baby was eight days old, all the relatives and friends gathered for the circumcion ceremony. They wanted to name the baby Zechariah, after his father. But Elizabeth said, “No! His name will be John.”

“What?” they asked, “There is no one in your family by that name.” They asked the baby’s father, who motioned for a tablet. Then to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.

Wonder fell upon the whole neighborhood, and news spread quickly throughout Judea. Everyone who heard it reflected on it and asked, “I wonder what this child will turn out to be? For the hand of the Lord is surely upon him in a special way.”

Upon returning home, Joseph, her fiancée could see that Mary was pregnant. Not wanting to expose her to public disgrace, had in mind to divorce Mary quietly. As he was considering this, he fell asleep and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this happened to fulfill what had been spoken by the prophet:

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and he will be called Immanuel, (meaning God with us.)”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded. He brought Mary home to be his wife. But, he had no union with her until after Jesus was born.

In those days, a decree was issued from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the entire Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own towns to register for the census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village town of Nazareth in Galilee. He took Mary his wife, who was very pregnant at the time. And, while they were there, the time came that she should be delivered. She brought forth her first born, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the local motels.

That night some shepherds were outside of Bethlehem, in the fields, guarding over their sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them saying, “Don’t be afraid, I bring you tidings of great joy for everyone! The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord of Hosts- has been born tonight in Bethlehem! And this is how you will recognize him: You will find baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!” Suddenly there was with the angel a vast host of others-the armies of heaven-praising God,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.”

When the angels returned to heaven, the Shepards said to each other, “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had told them concerning the child. All who heard it were astonished, but Mary quietly kept all these things in her heart, and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said.

About this same time, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem asking, “Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” Now Herod, the ruler in Jerusalem at the time, was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem. He called for a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law. “Where did the prophecy say the Messiah would be born?”

“In Bethlehem,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

‘O Bethlehem of Judah, you are not just a lowly village in Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star. Then Herod told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I may go and worship him too.”

After this interview the wise men went on their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before the child and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But when it was time to leave, they returned home another way, for God had warned them in a dream, not to go back to Jerusalem.

Herod was furious when he learned the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under. This is because the wise men had told him the star first appeared to them about two years earlier. Herod’s brutal action fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah,

“A cry of anguish is heard in Ramah-weeping and mourning unrestrained. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted-for they are no more.”

After the wise men had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying “Get up and flee to Egypt, with the child and his mother. Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to try and kill the child.” That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet:

“I called my son out of Egypt.”

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him, “Get up take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.” So Joseph returned immediately to Israel with Jesus and his mother. But when he learned that the new ruler was Herod’s son, Archelaus, he was afraid. Then, in another dream, he was warned to go to Galilee. So they went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophets concerning the Messiah,

“He will be called a Nazarene.”

When the time had come for the baby to be circumcised, he was named Jesus. Then it was time for the purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.” So they offered a sacrifice according to what was required in the law of the Lord- “either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

Now there was a man named Simeon who lived in Jerusalem. He was a righteous man and very devout. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he eagerly expected the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God saying,

“Lord, now I can die in peace! As you promised me, I have seen the Savior you have given to all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel.”

Joseph and Mary were amazed at what was being said about Jesus. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, “This child will be rejected by many in Israel, and it will be their undoing. But he will be the greatest joy to many others. Thus, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

Anna, a prophet was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, and was very old. She was a widow, for her husband had died when they had been married only seven years. She was now 84 years old. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshipping God with fasting and prayer. She came along just as Simeon was talking to Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about Jesus to everyone who had been waiting for the promised King to come and deliver Jerusalem.

When Jesus parents had fulfilled the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee.