Jesus is Born - Luke 2:1-20

The Story in a Nutshell

The story continues…

One day Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus decreed that a census or tax assessment be taken throughout the Roman Empire; Galilee was part of the empire.  Each resident in the empire was to return to his or her home town to register for the census.   Joseph, a descendent of King David, would need to return to Bethlehem since it was David’s ancient home.  So, Joseph and Mary, who was now quite pregnant, departed from Nazareth in Galilee, and headed for Bethlehem, an area which just happened to have lots of sheep.

While Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem Mary gave birth to her son, Jesus.  Jesus was born in a stable (area for animals) because there was no space for Mary and Joseph in the village inn.  So, Mary wrapped Jesus in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger.

That night while the shepherds in the area were watching over their sheep an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to them. Bright glory of the Lord surrounded them and they were very afraid.  The angel of the Lord told them not to be afraid and that he was bringing them good news.  And what was the good news? The long awaited Savior (the Messiah, the Lord) had been born that night in Bethlehem.  “Go into Bethlehem and look for him.  He’s wrapped in strips of cloth lying in a manger.

Suddenly the angel of the Lord was joined by many other angels and they all began praising God – “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to all whom God favors.”  The praise and worship continued for a time, then, all the angels and the angel of the Lord returned to heaven.

After the angels left the shepherds got excited.  “Let’s go the Bethlehem and see this wonderful thing that we have been told about.”  So they ran to the village where they found Mary, Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 

The shepherds were so excited that they went about telling everyone what had happened and what the angel had said about the child.  Everyone that the shepherds talked to was astonished.  Everyone, that is, except Mary, for Mary was quietly thinking about and treasuring in her heart all the things that had happened and were taking place.

After the shepherds told everyone, they went back to the fields to watch over their flocks.  And they continued to praise and glorifying God for what the angel had told them and because they had seen the baby, Jesus.

To be continued…

What did you learn from the story?

If you want to gain a full understanding of the complete story, and for help in answering some of the questions below, you may want to have the following items as additional resources:  a Bible, a dictionary, and a Bible commentary on the Book of Luke (optional).

1. What did the Roman emperor Augustus decree? 
2. Where were people to go to be counted in the census? 
3. Where was Joseph to go?  Why? 
4. What happened to Mary shortly after she arrived in Bethlehem?
5. Why was Jesus born in a stable? 
6. What is a manger? 
7. What happened to the shepherds the night Jesus was born? 
8. What did the shepherds think when the angel of the Lord appeared to them? 
9. What did the angel of the Lord say to the shepherds? 
10. What was the good news? 
11. How were the shepherds to recognize baby Jesus? 
12. What happened next?
13. What did the shepherds do after the angels returned to heaven? 
14. What did the people think when they heard the shepherd’s story? 
15. What does astonished mean?
16. What was Mary thinking? 
17. What does treasured mean? 
18. What did the shepherds do after they told everyone the story?
19. What did you learn about God, Jesus, and people from the story?

Have questions about God, Jesus, and the Bible? An excellent source for answers to your questions is gotquestions.org. Check it out. gotquestions.org.

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