The coming of the promised Messiah, Jesus, was foretold throughout the Old Testament soon after Adam and Eve chose to turn from God and believe Satan’s lies that they could become their own god. This breach of trust was the first sin committed by man against God that resulted in a severed relationship with God. Because of God’s mercy and love for all those He created, He promised a Savior who would come to the earth as a sinless baby, grow up in a family, and at the age of 33, He would willingly die and, three days later, rise from the dead. He paid the price for all the sins of humankind, past, present, and future, to restore, for all who believed, an eternal relationship with their Creator.
God wasted no time in His Word to announce a way of forgiveness for sin. The Savior will be born of a virgin woman and will crush the head of Satan. This prophecy was written about 1500 years before Christ was born.
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
He will be born in Bethlehem.
“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).
God made sure to give us an accurate account of the birth of Christ through the Bible.
- The Angel tells Mary of the birth of Jesus.
“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “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.” Luke 1;26-33. “And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her” (Luke 1:38)
- Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born.
“And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn “(Luke 2:6-7)
- The angels appeared to the shepherds who went to see the baby, Jesus.
“And the angel said to them, “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 cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “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.” (Luke 2:10-16).
- After 8 days, Jesus was circumcised. Then Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after his birth to consecrate Jesus to God and to complete the ritual purification of Mary, both because of the command of God’s Law (Exodus 13:1-2, 11-16; Leviticus 12).
- When Mary and Joseph had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to their home in Nazareth.
” And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him” (Luke 2:39)
Where were the Wise Men when Jesus was born? They were 800 to 900 miles away!
Magi refers to a group of learned men who were often associated with astrology, astronomy, and the interpretation of dreams. By the time of Jesus’ birth, the term had broadened to include men of knowledge and influence from the East, likely from regions like Persia, Babylon, or Arabia. These regions had longstanding traditions of astrology and prophecy, and they were familiar with the Jewish Scriptures due to the Jewish exile to Babylon centuries earlier. Daniel 2:48 suggests that the Magi might have interacted with Jewish wisdom traditions.
At the birth of Jesus, a bright star appeared. They rightly believed it was a sign from God to follow it to find the long-awaited Messiah. It took them one and a half to 2 years to arrive in Jerusalem. The Bible does not specify the number of wise men who visited Jesus; it only mentions that they brought three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
The wise men first came to Jerusalem because they expected this great king would come from the royal family who already lived in the capital city. I’m sure they were shocked and perplexed when King Herod asked when they first saw the star to ascertain when the child may have been born. When Herod discovered it was 2 years ago, he ordered the massacre of the babies in Bethlehem 2 years old and younger.
“After listening to the king, they, (the Wise men) went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold (for divinity) and frankincense (holy and righteous) and myrrh (suffering, bitterness). And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way” (Matthew 2:9-12).
God then spoke to Joseph in a dream to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt. He instructed them not to return until Herod died. Joseph obeyed God, and after a few years, they returned safely to their home in Nazareth.