Join us in this special Christmas episode as we explore the nativity story through readings from the Gospels. Delve into the historical insight about Nazareth, where Jesus spent his early years, and uncover its prophetic importance within the Scripture. Rediscover the journey that led to the birth of Jesus, from Joseph’s dreams to the spiritual significance of the title ‘Nazarene’. Experience the wonder of the holiday season with every turn in the narrative. Follow the wise men on their pilgrimage guided by the star, their worship including precious gifts, and the subsequent flight into Egypt told in rich detail.
So, it’s Christmas week, and during Christmas week I like to read from the Gospels in regard to the birth of Jesus and other passages that are so relevant during Christmas time. What I’m going to be doing today is reading from the Good News Bible. It’s what’s called today’s English translation in the name of the Bible, the Good News Bible. It’s a very straightforward, simple, literal translation. And I’m going to be reading some bits of commentary here and there that you find in this Good News translation. So I’m going to read, first of all, a little bit of data about the city of Nazareth. A town of Lower Galilee, where Jesus spent his boyhood years, Nazareth is located about 30 miles from the Mediterranean Sea. Its mild climate and sheltered location in the hills of Galilee made Nazareth an ideal place to live. Nazareth is not mentioned in the Old Testament, although artifacts discovered on the site indicate that Nazareth was a settled community at least 1,500 years before the New Testament era. In Jesus’ time, the town apparently had a bad reputation in morals and religion. This may have been what prompted Nathaniel, when he first learned of Jesus of Nazareth, to ask, can anything good come out of Nazareth? The angel appeared to Mary at Nazareth and informed her of the coming birth of Jesus. After their sojourn in Egypt, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus back to Nazareth where they had lived before his birth. Here Jesus spent the greater part of his life. Apparently, he was well received as a young man, but his townspeople later rejected him. Because of his close association with the city, he became known as Jesus of Nazareth. There was also prophetic significance to his being known as a Nazarene. Quote, What the prophets had said came true, he will be called a Nazarene. Matthew 2 verse 23. Modern Nazareth, known as El Nazira, is a city of about 30,000 people. Its location on the site of old Nazareth makes it impossible to conduct extensive archaeological excavations. The Church of the Annunciation, the major tourist attraction, had a special significance for all Bible students. This church contains a cave where, according to legend, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. Rebuilding and excavation work on this site has turned up evidence that a Christian church existed at this location as early as the 4th century AD. So now I’m going to read some of the account of Jesus’ birth by Matthew. This was how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married she found out that she was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit. Joseph was a man who always did what was right, but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly, so he made plans to break the engagement privately. While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife, for it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived. She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Now all this happened in order to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, a virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and he will be called Emmanuel, which means God is with us. So when Joseph woke up, he married Mary, as the angel of the Lord had told him to, but he had no sexual relations with her before she gave birth to her son. And Joseph called him Jesus. Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterward some men who studied the stars came from the east to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the baby born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star when it came up in the east, and we have come to worship him. When King Herod heard about this, he was very upset, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and the teachers of the law and asked them, Where will the Messiah be born? In the town of Bethlehem in Judea, they answered, for this is what the prophet wrote, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, you are by no means the least of the leading cities of Judah. for from you will come a leader who will guide my people Israel. So Herod called the visitors from the east to a secret meeting and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem with these instructions, Go and make a careful search for the child, and when you find him, let me know, so that I too may go and worship him. And so they left, and on their way they saw the same star they had seen in the east. When they saw it, how happy they were! What joy was theirs! It went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. They went into the house, and when they saw the child with his mother Mary, they knelt down and worshipped him. They brought out their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and presented them to him. Then they returned to their country by another road, since God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. After they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, Herod will be looking for the child in order to kill him. So get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave. Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and left during the night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod died. This was done to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, I called my son out of Egypt. When Herod realized that the visitors from the east had tricked him, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighborhood who were two years old and younger. This was done in accordance with what he had learned from the visitors about the time when the star had appeared. In this way, what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true. A sound is heard in Ramah, the sound of bitter weeping. Rachel is crying for her children. She refuses to be comforted, for they are dead. After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, Get up, take the child and his mother and go back to the land of Israel, because those who tried to kill the child are dead. So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went back to Israel. But when Joseph heard that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Judea, he was afraid to go there. He was given more instructions in a dream, so he went to the province of Galilee and made his home in a town named Nazareth. And so, what the prophets had said came true. He will be called a Nazarene. And now I’m going to read some portions of this story of Jesus’ birth from the book of Luke. During the time when Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife’s name was Elizabeth. She also belonged to a priestly family. They both lived good lives in God’s sight and obeyed fully all the Lord’s laws and commands. They had no children, because Elizabeth could not have any, and she and Zechariah were both very old. One day, Zechariah was doing his work as a priest in the temple, taking his turn in the daily service. According to the custom followed by the priests, he was chosen by lot to burn incense on the altar. So he went into the temple of the Lord, while the crowd of people outside prayed during the hour when the incense was burned. An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar where the incense was burned. When Zechariah saw him, he was alarmed and felt afraid. But the angel said to him, “‘Don’t be afraid, Zechariah. God has heard your prayer, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. You are to name him John. How glad and happy you will be, and how happy many others will be when he is born!’ John will be great in the Lord’s sight. He will not drink any wine or strong drink. From his very birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go ahead of the Lord, strong and mighty like the prophet Elijah. He will bring fathers and children together again. He will turn disobedient people back to the way of thinking of the righteous. He will get the Lord’s people ready for him. Zechariah said to the angel, How shall I know if this is so? I am an old man, and my wife is old also. I am Gabriel, the angel answered. I stand in the presence of God, who sent me to speak to you and tell you this good news. But you have not believed my message, which will come true at the right time. Because you have not believed, you will be unable to speak. You will remain silent until the day my promise to you comes true. In the meantime, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he was spending such a long time in the temple. When he came out, he could not speak to them, and so they knew that he had seen a vision in the temple. Unable to say a word, he made signs to them with his hands. When his period of service in the temple was over, Zechariah went back home. Sometime later, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant. and she did not leave the house for five months. Now, at last, the Lord has helped me, she said. He has taken away my public disgrace. In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth. He had a message for a young woman promised in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. Her name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, Peace be with you. The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you. Mary was deeply troubled by the angel’s message and she wondered what his words meant. The angel said to her, Don’t be afraid, Mary. God has been gracious to you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will make him a king as his ancestor David was, and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end. What an incredible story this is. What a bit of history. Simple, straight to the point, and powerful beyond words. It’s the truth about God visiting us, Emmanuel, and coming to bring us salvation. So let’s rejoice this Christmas. If you would like to make a donation to the ministry and you haven’t got to it so far, not too late. You can make your donation online at faithquestradio.com. Thank you for all your support this year. Thank you for listening every day or frequently. It’s such a blessing to serve you. I’ll see you next time. Cheerio and God bless.
