After Jesus' birth wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem. Sadly they went to the wrong place to look for Him, assuming wrongly that a king would be born in a palace. The result of that was disastrous for many families, and hundreds of babies were killed.
They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in a manger. When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him. Everyone who heard the shepherds' story was amazed. Mary treasured all these things in her heart and always thought about them.
The angels left them and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about." As I read this verse that there is something missing. I cannot imagine the shepherds calmly discussing what to do next, then getting up and going.
Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel. I love God's "suddenlies". The word "suddenly" appears 47 times in most versions of the Bible. God often surprises us with a "suddenly". When the angel appeared to the shepherds, they were not doing anything "spiritual".
Shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem... An angel from the Lord suddenly appeared to them... The angel said to them, "Don’t be afraid!" Another angelic appearance spreads the word of the virgin birth. Why shepherds? ... The news the angel brought was to bring great joy to ALL people.
While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have her child. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there wasn't any room for them in the inn. We don't have the whole story.
Micah 5:2 You, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are too small to be included among Judah's cities. Yet, from you Israel's future ruler will come for me. His origins go back to the distant past, to days long ago. Jesus was born in the birthplace of His ancestor King David.
Matthew 1:24-25 Joseph named the child Jesus. I am always impressed when I read of complete immediate obedience like Joseph's. No questions, no hesitation. He was 100% convinced by the dream. At least that is how it comes across in the gospel of Matthew.
Isaiah 7:14 So the Lord himself will give you this sign: A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel. About seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, God had promised to send a Saviour. Isaiah was a prophet to Ahaz.
Matthew 1:20-21 The angel said to him, "Joseph, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. We return to our Christmas story with the assurance that God is in control.
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