BIRTH
BIRTH
GOD WITH US
Many years passed. It had been more than 400 years since the last prophet spoke. And the people still waited for the Promised Saviour.
In those days, a strong army from Rome ruled the people of Abraham.
Now there was a couple named Mary and Joseph. And they had promised to marry one another. They both had come from the family line of David.
One day, an angel appeared to Mary. The angel spoke and said, ‘Greetings! The Lord is with you. He has blessed you in a special way. You are going to have a son. You will name him Jesus. He will be great. And God will make him king like his ancestor David. He will rule over the people for ever. His kingdom will never end.’
Mary was confused. She said, ‘How can this happen? I am a virgin. I have never been with a man.’
And the angel said, ‘Nothing is impossible with God. The Holy Spirit will come to you. The power of the Most High God will make it so. The child will be holy. He will be called the Son of God.’
And Mary said, ‘I am God’s servant. Let this happen just as you have said.’ And the angel went away.
Soon, Mary knew she was going to have a baby.
Now Joseph was a good man. When he learned that Mary was going to have a child, he wanted to leave Mary. But he did not want many people to know about it.
But, one night, an angel came to Joseph in a dream. The angel said, ‘Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. The child that is in her is there by the power of God’s Spirit. You are going to name him Jesus. He will save his people from their sins.’
So, when Joseph woke up, he did what the angel said. He took Mary as his wife. But he chose not to sleep with her until after the baby was born.
When it was almost time for the baby to be born, the king from Rome made a law. Every person had to return to his home town to be counted. Joseph’s family was from the town of Bethlehem. And so Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem. While they were there, the baby was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Now all of this happened to keep the promise that God made through Isaiah. ‘The virgin will give birth to a son. They will call him Immanuel ~ “God with us.”