Four hundred years passed since God spoke to Israel through prophets. There was complete silence from God, and Jewish people now lived under the dominion of the Roman kingdom. Then one day, God spoke again! He sent an angel to speak to Zechariah, a priest in the Temple. He told him that his wife, Elizabeth, would give birth to a son who would announce the coming of the promised Messiah. Zechariah did not believe at first because he and his wife were very old and had no children, so God made him mute until after the birth of his son. But God did what he said, and Elizabeth gave birth to John, who would grow up and preach in the wilderness, announcing the arrival of the Savior.
Six months after Gabriel spoke to Zechariah, God sent his angel to the region of Galilee, to the town of Nazareth, to the house of a virgin named Mary, who was Elizabeth’s cousin. Mary was promised in marriage to a man named Joseph who was of the family of David.
The angel said to Mary, “Greetings, you who are favored by God.” Mary was confused and afraid. Gabriel said, “God has blessed you for you shall give birth to a son. You will call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will rule over Israel and Judah forever.
Now Joseph, Mary’s fiancé, was a righteous man. When he found out that she was pregnant, he did not want to shame Mary in front of everyone. So he decided to break the engagement and divorce her quietly. While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. The child is conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. She will have a son, and you will name Him Jesus which means ‘the Lord saves,’ because He will save His people from their sins.” When Joseph woke up from his dream, he took Mary home as his wife. But he didn’t sleep with her until after the baby was born.
Soon after this John was born to Elizabeth, then six months later Mary was also ready to give birth. At that time, the king in Rome decreed that everyone must return to the town of their ancestors to be counted for tax purposes. Joseph was from the house of David, so he returned to Bethlehem in Judea to be registered along with Mary.
So many people were traveling to be registered that they could find no place to stay in Bethlehem. So they found a place for animals. While they were there, Mary gave birth to a son, wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a feeding trough for the animals.
Nearby, there were shepherds out in the fields watching their animals that night. Suddenly, an angel appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! I bring you good news of great joy for all the people. For in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you to recognize him. You will find the baby wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in a feeding trough for animals.” Then a whole army of angels appeared and sang “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace to men on whom His favor rests.”
When the angels disappeared, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go into Bethlehem and see this thing the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Joseph, Mary, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. After they saw Jesus, the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, and they spread the word around to everyone they met. And everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them.