Christians need to share details of the birth of Christ from the Bible so that everything ties together. Here is what I am teaching elementary school children.
Who is the Lord Jesus Christ? He is the Son of God. He is also God the Creator who created the universe. But because God the Father loved all mankind (human beings) He sent His Son into this world to become “the Lamb of God” who would die for the sins of the whole world. Only then could God offer the gift of eternal life freely to all. So God the Son became the Man Christ Jesus who would be the Savior of the world.
The genealogy (or descent) of Christ from His chief ancestors is as below:
Adam- Seth - Noah - Shem - Eber -Abraham - Isaac - Jacob - Judah - David - Solomon & Nathan- Joseph & Mary - JESUS of Nazareth.
Jesus would be born as the King of the Jews, because He was “the Seed of the Woman” (Mary) promised to Israel as their Messiah (Savior). The people of Israel were Jews and the Jews were also Hebrews. So the Hebrew name of Jesus is Yeshua (Yay. shoo. ah), which meant that He would save His people from their sins. He would be a descendant of king David, so both His mother Mary and His foster father Joseph were descendants of David through Solomon and Nathan (the sons of David). David was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. And Abraham was a descendant of Adam, Seth, Noah, and Shem. Therefore we have the genealogy (line of descent) for Jesus in both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke.
Mary and Joseph lived in a city of Galilee named Nazareth. Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph, who was a carpenter. God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to tell her that she would be the virgin mother of Jesus, who would be called “the Son of the Highest” (or the Son of God) and Emmanuel (God with us). This would require a miracle, since Mary was not yet married. Mary accepted this message from Gabriel and was willing to do what God wanted. Gabriel also informed Joseph so that he would not be afraid and wonder how his wife was having a child.
Galilee was in Palestine, Palestine was a part of the Roman empire and Caesar Augustus was the emperor when Christ was born. His governor Cyrenius (Quirinius) ordered all the people in Palestine to go to their own cities so that their names would be recorded for paying taxes to Rome. This was also called a census. Since the city of Mary and Joseph was also the city of David, they had to go to Bethlehem in Judea from Nazareth in Galilee. Herod was the king of Judea at that time.
When Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, it was very crowded because of the census. So they had to find shelter in a manger (where animals were kept). And this is where Jesus was born. Jesus was not born on December 25. He was probably born in early September in the year B.C. 4 (which is also A.D.1)
At that time there were shepherds in the field watching their flocks. An angel (probably Gabriel) went to give them the good news that “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” had been born in Bethlehem, and they would find a baby wrapped in “swaddling clothes” (strips of cloth wrapped around new-born babies) and lying in a manger. Then suddenly there was a huge number of angels who appeared, praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men.”
The shepherds told each other that they must go to Bethlehem quickly and see what God had made known to them. So they came to the manger and found Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. The shepherds spread this good news all around, and all those who heard it wondered what it meant.
At the same time wise men (or magi) came from the East (probably from Arabia or Persia) to Jerusalem. They had seen a special star, which told them that the promised King of the Jews had been born. So they came to king Herod to ask where this child had been born. Herod called the chief priests and the scribes and asked them where Christ would be born. And they told him that He would be born in Bethlehem of Judea, because the Bible said so in Micah 5:2.
Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem, but it was the special star which actually led them to the exact place where Jesus was. The wise men were extremely glad to see the star. They found that Joseph, Mary and Jesus were now in a house. Jesus was now a young child, and when they saw Him, they fell down and worshipped Him. Then they opened their treasures, and presented costly gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
God then warned them in a dream that they should not return to Herod, but go back to their country by another way. And that is what they did. After they left “the angel of the Lord” (probably Gabriel) came to Joseph in a dream to have him go into Egypt with Mary and Jesus, because Herod wanted to find the young child and kill him. So Joseph got up at night, and left for Egypt.
Herod was very angry that the wise men did not come back and tell him about the Christ-child. So he had all the children in and around Bethlehem (who were two years old and under) killed. This caused great sorrow and mourning and weeping.
After Herod died, the angel of the Lord again appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that he should return with his family to Nazareth in Galilee. So Joseph, Mary, and Jesus went back to Nazareth, because the Bible said about Christ that “He shall be called a Nazarene”.
Who is the Lord Jesus Christ? He is the Son of God. He is also God the Creator who created the universe. But because God the Father loved all mankind (human beings) He sent His Son into this world to become “the Lamb of God” who would die for the sins of the whole world. Only then could God offer the gift of eternal life freely to all. So God the Son became the Man Christ Jesus who would be the Savior of the world.
The genealogy (or descent) of Christ from His chief ancestors is as below:
Adam- Seth - Noah - Shem - Eber -Abraham - Isaac - Jacob - Judah - David - Solomon & Nathan- Joseph & Mary - JESUS of Nazareth.
Jesus would be born as the King of the Jews, because He was “the Seed of the Woman” (Mary) promised to Israel as their Messiah (Savior). The people of Israel were Jews and the Jews were also Hebrews. So the Hebrew name of Jesus is Yeshua (Yay. shoo. ah), which meant that He would save His people from their sins. He would be a descendant of king David, so both His mother Mary and His foster father Joseph were descendants of David through Solomon and Nathan (the sons of David). David was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. And Abraham was a descendant of Adam, Seth, Noah, and Shem. Therefore we have the genealogy (line of descent) for Jesus in both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke.
Mary and Joseph lived in a city of Galilee named Nazareth. Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph, who was a carpenter. God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to tell her that she would be the virgin mother of Jesus, who would be called “the Son of the Highest” (or the Son of God) and Emmanuel (God with us). This would require a miracle, since Mary was not yet married. Mary accepted this message from Gabriel and was willing to do what God wanted. Gabriel also informed Joseph so that he would not be afraid and wonder how his wife was having a child.
Galilee was in Palestine, Palestine was a part of the Roman empire and Caesar Augustus was the emperor when Christ was born. His governor Cyrenius (Quirinius) ordered all the people in Palestine to go to their own cities so that their names would be recorded for paying taxes to Rome. This was also called a census. Since the city of Mary and Joseph was also the city of David, they had to go to Bethlehem in Judea from Nazareth in Galilee. Herod was the king of Judea at that time.
When Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem, it was very crowded because of the census. So they had to find shelter in a manger (where animals were kept). And this is where Jesus was born. Jesus was not born on December 25. He was probably born in early September in the year B.C. 4 (which is also A.D.1)
At that time there were shepherds in the field watching their flocks. An angel (probably Gabriel) went to give them the good news that “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” had been born in Bethlehem, and they would find a baby wrapped in “swaddling clothes” (strips of cloth wrapped around new-born babies) and lying in a manger. Then suddenly there was a huge number of angels who appeared, praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men.”
The shepherds told each other that they must go to Bethlehem quickly and see what God had made known to them. So they came to the manger and found Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. The shepherds spread this good news all around, and all those who heard it wondered what it meant.
At the same time wise men (or magi) came from the East (probably from Arabia or Persia) to Jerusalem. They had seen a special star, which told them that the promised King of the Jews had been born. So they came to king Herod to ask where this child had been born. Herod called the chief priests and the scribes and asked them where Christ would be born. And they told him that He would be born in Bethlehem of Judea, because the Bible said so in Micah 5:2.
Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem, but it was the special star which actually led them to the exact place where Jesus was. The wise men were extremely glad to see the star. They found that Joseph, Mary and Jesus were now in a house. Jesus was now a young child, and when they saw Him, they fell down and worshipped Him. Then they opened their treasures, and presented costly gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
God then warned them in a dream that they should not return to Herod, but go back to their country by another way. And that is what they did. After they left “the angel of the Lord” (probably Gabriel) came to Joseph in a dream to have him go into Egypt with Mary and Jesus, because Herod wanted to find the young child and kill him. So Joseph got up at night, and left for Egypt.
Herod was very angry that the wise men did not come back and tell him about the Christ-child. So he had all the children in and around Bethlehem (who were two years old and under) killed. This caused great sorrow and mourning and weeping.
After Herod died, the angel of the Lord again appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that he should return with his family to Nazareth in Galilee. So Joseph, Mary, and Jesus went back to Nazareth, because the Bible said about Christ that “He shall be called a Nazarene”.
