We have four children and nine grandchildren in our family. The arrival of each new baby has been the biggest news of the year for us. We are always thrilled with each new addition as they change our family forever.

But the rest of the world always goes about its business as if nothing unusual has happened.

Believe it or not, that’s the way it was when the Son of God came into the world. Very few people paid any attention. For a while, two women and two bewildered husbands were the only ones who knew that the Messiah and his prophet had been born. Of course, there was also a crazy story about angels appearing to shepherds, but shepherds didn’t have a lot of stature in those days either.

Even some of the Old Testament prophets who predicted this birth might have missed it if they had been around when it happened. There was no announcement in the streets of Jerusalem that the heir to King David’s throne had finally been born.

Mary and Elizabeth

Elizabeth was a long-time married woman when she became pregnant with her first child, but her relative Mary was an unmarried teenager with a surprise pregnancy. Mary needed someone safe to talk things over with, so she hurried off to visit Elizabeth.

It must have been a blessing for the two women to spend their days together talking about marriage and babies. Mary stayed until her pregnancy began to show, then she went home and left Elizabeth to await her delivery. By then Mary had a store of wisdom from her relative – as well as Elizabeth’s prayers to sustain her for what lay ahead.

The things Mary and Elizabeth said to each other showed how well they understood the part they were playing in Israel’s history. Even before Mary could explain why she had come, Elizabeth said,

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord will fulfill his promises to her.” Luke 1:42-44

How encouraged Mary must have been by that greeting!  She responded with a song of praise to God that revealed the depth of her knowledge of Scripture. She blessed God for all he had done for Israel from generation to generation and thanked him for including her in his plan. She knew that from then on all the generations would call her blessed. God was doing what he had promised Israel so long ago, he was sending his Son into the world.

The Birth of John the Baptist

Elizabeth gave birth to a healthy boy and everyone was happy for her. The day of his circumcision and naming ceremony came and the crowd assumed he would be named for his father Zechariah. It was traditional for the father to pronounce the name of the child, but since Zechariah couldn’t speak, Elizabeth interrupted the ceremony by calling out, “No! He is to be called John.” Luke 1:60

Zechariah asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” (Luke 1:63) Then his tongue loosened and he launched into a prophecy announcing that this child was going to be the prophet of the Most High, the one who would go before the Messiah and prepare the way for him.

People in the region heard all about this story and were astounded. They tried to imagine what kind of man John was going to be someday since the circumstances of his birth had been so unusual.

What they didn’t know was that just to the north another baby was growing inside his mother and creating quite a stir of his own.

The Birth of Jesus

Mary arrived back in Nazareth three months pregnant and had to tell her fiancé Joseph. It certainly looked suspicious that his bride-to-be went away suddenly and came back in this condition. He thought it would be best to break the marriage contract quietly and not disgrace her publicly.

But an angel intervened with Joseph one night in a dream.

“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.” Matthew 1:20-21

These details matched Mary’s story about what the angel Gabriel said to her. Joseph acted by faith and followed through on the marriage, but kept Mary a virgin until after the baby was born.

Around this time Caesar Augustus ordered an empire-wide census and Joseph took Mary with him to register in his ancestral hometown of Bethlehem. While they were there Mary went into labor and gave birth to Jesus, probably in a sheltered part of someone’s home.

Scholars think it’s unlikely that Mary gave birth in an open cowshed because that would have been unthinkably inhospitable in that culture. She and Joseph were probably taken in and attended to by kind people who let them stay while Mary recovered.

Angels and Shepherds

Outside of Bethlehem some shepherds were staying in the fields with their sheep when God sent an angel to tell them his Son had been born.

It was a terrifying experience.

“But the angel said 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 Savior 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.’” Luke 2:10-12

The Glory of God lit up the place where they stood and a great company of heavenly beings suddenly filled the sky with praise for God, saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14

Glory beams from God’s throne and angels praise him in the heavenly realms all the time, but only rarely do the angels get to break into earth’s atmosphere and make this kind of joyful splash.

The shepherds wasted no time going to find Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus, and it was all just as the angel told them. The shepherds couldn’t contain themselves; they went out and told everyone what they had just seen and the people were amazed. I wonder how many curious visitors Mary and Joseph had stop by after that?

Mary kept track of all these happenings in her little son’s life and pondered their meaning in her heart. Meanwhile, the shepherds went back to sheep herding as changed people. They kept glorifying God and praising him for letting them see his son. The angel’s prediction that the good news about God’s Son would bring great joy had already begun in the hearts of the shepherds.

Jesus Goes to the Temple

Joseph arranged for their son to be circumcised on the eighth day of his life and he gave him the name Jesus. Forty days after his birth Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem. They fulfilled the Law of Moses that required that a first-born son be presented to God; then they redeemed him with the sacrifice of two young doves. Mary also completed the rites of purification that followed child birth.

At the temple were two people who had been faithfully waiting for God to reveal the Messiah. The Holy Spirit had revealed to a man named Simeon that he was going to see the Messiah in his lifetime and when he saw Jesus in the temple courts he knew this child was the One. He praised God, saying,

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations; a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” Luke 2:29-33

Sadly, Simeon also foresaw that Jesus was going to be a controversial figure in Israel. He was going to reveal the contents of people’s hearts and many would oppose him. Mary’s soul was going to be pierced by what she saw.

Nearby stood an old woman named Anna who spent her days fasting and praying at the temple. When she saw Jesus she rejoiced and told everyone about him. We don’t know what she said, but it edified everyone there who, like Anna, was looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Heading Home

Luke takes us back to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph at this point. He assures us that Jesus grew up strong and wise there, and the grace of God was on him.

But Matthew has some more details to share with us surrounding Jesus’ earliest days. So tomorrow we will go back to Bethlehem and read what Matthew has to say.