Image belongs to Blake's family. Text font in image is "Cretino." We put some meat on our journey into the Christmas story in the New Testament’s third Gospel.
By Blake
Originally posted January 16, 2010.
So far, our voyage to put together the full Christmas story by looking at the first two pieces of the puzzle—the books of Matthew and Mark—has gone quite well. In Matthew, we read about Joseph’s encounters with an angel, as well as the three wise men making their way to visit Jesus. Mark didn’t discuss the Christmas story itself, but rather what productive things Jesus performed later in His life. Now it’s time to look at Luke, where we really get the bulk of what Nativity scenes show us each year as we set them out on our mantles as decoration. A large majority of what we’ve heard in Sunday School all these years is found in Luke – let’s get started!
The book of Luke begins with a one-paragraph-long introduction explaining that although accounts have already written about Jesus, Luke feels that it would be appropriate for him also to write about Him so that “ . . . you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” (NIV)
From there, he gets right down to business in telling the story of Jesus’ birth. He starts out by describing how an angel visited Zechariah, a priest who was married to a woman named Elizabeth. Although the couple was “well along in years,” (NIV) the angel told Zechariah that Elizabeth would give birth to a son who they were to name John. Their child ended up being John the Baptist.
Not-so-coincidentally, Elizabeth’s cousin Mary was also visited by an angel. This is the same Mary that would give birth to Jesus. We’ve already read about Joseph’s encounter with an angel; now we get to read about Mary’s. The angel’s name was Gabriel, and he told Mary that she would give birth to Jesus, even though she was still a virgin.
Many might be upset, confused, perplexed, or frustrated if something of this nature were to happen to them. Mary hadn’t done anything particular to deserve this occurrence, so why was it happening to her? Why did she have to be the one to have the pressure put on her to raise God’s Son? However, rather than let the situation overcome her with grief, Mary saw her position as an honor and an opportunity to serve the Lord. Soon Mary visited Elizabeth (whose to-be-born baby leaped for joy in her stomach upon Mary’s arrival) and she celebrated the mercy of the Lord in a beautiful song that can be found in Luke 1:46—55.
When Elizabeth gave birth to her child, she was at first encouraged to not name him John, since no one in her family had that name. However, Elizabeth and Zechariah were both adamant about obeying the Lord’s command to name their son John. As soon as the mute Zechariah wrote down “His name is John” (NIV) on a tablet in an effort to further speak his mind, he was immediately healed and able to speak once more. This is followed in Luke 1:68—79 by another wonderful song, this time written by Zechariah, about the brilliant gifts God has given to us.
Once we enter Luke chapter 2, we learn that Caesar Augustus had everyone register for a census in their own town. This meant that Joseph had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. This is starting to sound familiar, right? He took Mary with him and once they arrived in Bethlehem, it was time for Mary to give birth to Jesus. Luke 2:7 states that “she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (NIV) This is where we get the famous setting that we see in Nativity figures each Christmas season.
Next up comes another famous passage, made more widely known by Linus in the Christmas special A Charlie Brown Christmas. It tells of shepherds that were nearby and visited by an angel. I’ll let the rest speak for itself, as said in Luke 2:8—14.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 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 of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying:
So far, our voyage to put together the full Christmas story by looking at the first two pieces of the puzzle—the books of Matthew and Mark—has gone quite well. In Matthew, we read about Joseph’s encounters with an angel, as well as the three wise men making their way to visit Jesus. Mark didn’t discuss the Christmas story itself, but rather what productive things Jesus performed later in His life. Now it’s time to look at Luke, where we really get the bulk of what Nativity scenes show us each year as we set them out on our mantles as decoration. A large majority of what we’ve heard in Sunday School all these years is found in Luke – let’s get started!
The book of Luke begins with a one-paragraph-long introduction explaining that although accounts have already written about Jesus, Luke feels that it would be appropriate for him also to write about Him so that “ . . . you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” (NIV)
From there, he gets right down to business in telling the story of Jesus’ birth. He starts out by describing how an angel visited Zechariah, a priest who was married to a woman named Elizabeth. Although the couple was “well along in years,” (NIV) the angel told Zechariah that Elizabeth would give birth to a son who they were to name John. Their child ended up being John the Baptist.
Not-so-coincidentally, Elizabeth’s cousin Mary was also visited by an angel. This is the same Mary that would give birth to Jesus. We’ve already read about Joseph’s encounter with an angel; now we get to read about Mary’s. The angel’s name was Gabriel, and he told Mary that she would give birth to Jesus, even though she was still a virgin.
Many might be upset, confused, perplexed, or frustrated if something of this nature were to happen to them. Mary hadn’t done anything particular to deserve this occurrence, so why was it happening to her? Why did she have to be the one to have the pressure put on her to raise God’s Son? However, rather than let the situation overcome her with grief, Mary saw her position as an honor and an opportunity to serve the Lord. Soon Mary visited Elizabeth (whose to-be-born baby leaped for joy in her stomach upon Mary’s arrival) and she celebrated the mercy of the Lord in a beautiful song that can be found in Luke 1:46—55.
When Elizabeth gave birth to her child, she was at first encouraged to not name him John, since no one in her family had that name. However, Elizabeth and Zechariah were both adamant about obeying the Lord’s command to name their son John. As soon as the mute Zechariah wrote down “His name is John” (NIV) on a tablet in an effort to further speak his mind, he was immediately healed and able to speak once more. This is followed in Luke 1:68—79 by another wonderful song, this time written by Zechariah, about the brilliant gifts God has given to us.
Once we enter Luke chapter 2, we learn that Caesar Augustus had everyone register for a census in their own town. This meant that Joseph had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. This is starting to sound familiar, right? He took Mary with him and once they arrived in Bethlehem, it was time for Mary to give birth to Jesus. Luke 2:7 states that “she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (NIV) This is where we get the famous setting that we see in Nativity figures each Christmas season.
Next up comes another famous passage, made more widely known by Linus in the Christmas special A Charlie Brown Christmas. It tells of shepherds that were nearby and visited by an angel. I’ll let the rest speak for itself, as said in Luke 2:8—14.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 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 of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” (NIV)
From there, the shepherds traveled to Bethlehem and visited Jesus and while He was still in the manger and celebrated His birth.
And there you have it! While Luke pretty much completes the backstory of the decorative arrangement of our Nativity scenes, there’s still one more book to look through. Join us next time as we delve into John to finish our Christmas journey.
Related BlakeOnline articles:
- A Christmas Celebration (posted December 24, 2009)
- Nativity Made New, Part One: Matthew (posted December 29, 2009)
By Blake; posted January 16, 2010. Image belongs to Blake's family. Text font in image is "Cretino."
2 comments:
Blake,
I have loved reading "Nativity Made New"! I have never looked and compared one gospel to another like this. I love how you included Elizabeth and Zechariah in this telling also.
I would love to have a hard copy of these if you ever get around to doing that. I'd even pay for it!
Well done. Can't wait for John!
Thank you very much for the kind words, I truly appreciate them.
I don't know about paying for it, but feel free to print it out and share with others.
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