By: Johanna Geboy & Addison Clark 12/13/23
What is the reason for the season? Christian's celebrate Jesus's birthday on Christmas Day. We celebrate our birthdays because it is special to us. The Savior's Birthday is even more special to Christians because God sent his only son to save and free people from the power of sin. He was born in Bethlehem around 4 B.C. Predictions of this Messiah birth, miracles, and significance for future generations can all be found in the Bible, the Holy Book to Christians. Christian families throughout the world celebrate in different ways. John Winders, Pastor of Emmanuel Church, recalls growing up by saying,” in my family we had to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, now in my children we read Luke 2.”
The story of Jesus’s birth can be found in the four gospels of the new testament of the Bible. God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary, the mother of Jesus saying that she was highly favored and God was with her. He told her that she will have a son named Jesus and he would be called the “Son of the Most High ''. Gabriel told Mary that the Lord God will give Jesus the throne of his father David. This is significant because Mary, a virgin, was engaged to Joseph, a descendant of David. Gabriel also appeared also to Joseph telling him that what was conceived in Mary was from God and that he should be Jesus’s earthly father.
At the time of the birth of Jesus, a census, or count of people, required them to travel to Bethlehem. In Bethlehem, there was no room in any of the inns, so they stayed in a stable below an inn.The baby, Jesus, was born that night and set in a manger. The Shepherds in a field right outside Bethlehem were the first people told about the birth of their messiah. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified 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 clothes and lying in a manger.” The shepherds went and worshiped their newborn king.
You may be wondering why Christmas is so important to us. It is Jesus’ Birthday. Jesus is the son of God. So what miracles revolve around Jesus’ birth? Well in Micah 2:13-14 the prophet said that Jesus would be born in Israel in the stable with sheep and 700 years later that happened! Another miracle was in Matthew 1:20–21, Joseph had a dream that his son was the son of God, that he would be the messiah.
In Jesus’ birth there were three wisemen that traveled from Babylon, a city that does not really exist anymore. How did the wise men find Jesus you may be wondering, well they followed a star from the east which led to where Jesus was born in a stable. It took 2 years for them to travel to Bethlehem. The wise men were rich; so they brought gifts to Jesus including, gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
31% of the world's population celebrate Christmas as Jesus’s birthday. The nativity scene is a reminder of Jesus's birth with a visual scene of what it may have looked like in the stable. His birth, The star, miracle before his birth, the wise man are all miracles that are special to christian.