Have you read the birth narratives concerning Jesus Christ for yourself? In the book of Acts, the Bible accounts how the followers of Jesus began to spread the good news of Jesus Christ around the world. In the midst of that action is this profound statement concerning the Jews in Berea who had heard the Apostle Paul preach about Jesus Christ:

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them believed…

Acts 17:11-12 (ESV)

This Christmas season, we invite you to act nobly as these people in Berea acted. Read the account of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth for yourself to see if what you are believing about him is true.

The Announcement to Mary (Luke 1:26-38 ESV)

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 

³⁵ And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. 

The Announcement to Joseph (Matthew 1:18-25 ESV)

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 

²³  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, 

and they shall call his name Immanuel” 

(which means, God with us). ²⁴ When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, ²⁵ but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. 

The Birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1-7 ESV)

2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 

The Visit of the Shepherds (Luke 2:8-20 ESV)

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 

¹⁴  “Glory to God in the highest, 

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 

The Dedication of Jesus and the Visits of Simeon and Anna and (Luke 2:21-40 ESV)

²¹ And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 

²² And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 

²⁹  “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, 

according to your word; 

³⁰  for my eyes have seen your salvation 

³¹  that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 

³²  a light for revelation to the Gentiles, 

and for glory to your people Israel.” 

³³ And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” 

³⁶ And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, ³⁷ and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸ And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. 

The Visit of the Wise Men (Matthew 2:1-12 ESV)

(This happens when Jesus is 1-2 years old.) 2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴ and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 

⁶  “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, 

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; 

for from you shall come a ruler 

who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” 

⁷ Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” ⁹ After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. 

The Flight to Egypt and Return to Nazareth (Matthew 2:13-23; Luke 2:39-40 ESV)

¹³ Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴ And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt ¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. ¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 

¹⁸  “A voice was heard in Ramah, 

weeping and loud lamentation, 

Rachel weeping for her children; 

she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” 

¹⁹ But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰ saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” ²¹ And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. ²³ And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene. 

Luke 2:39-40 (ESV): ³⁹ And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. 

Other Scriptures to Consider:

John the Baptist was the appointed prophet to be the forerunner of the Christ. His birth was also miraculous due the age of his parents and the barrenness of his mother. A relative of Jesus himself, John was born about six months before Jesus. Interestingly, Mary visits John’s Mother and praises God in what has become known as the Magnificat. See Luke 1:5-25; 1:39-80; Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1.

Old Testament prophecies about the birth and childhood of Jesus Christ: Micah 5:2; Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, 52:13-53:12; Jeremiah 23:5-6; 31:15; Hosea 11:1. These are just a few. Jesus Christ’s first coming fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophecies and typologies. Listen to some of the sermons from Whites Run Baptist Church to hear about the seamless unity between Old and New Testaments.

Less than half the story

Jesus’ coming into the world was the result of God’s plan established before the foundation of the world to redeem lost mankind. The Old Testament has a great deal to say about the manner, method, and mission of the first coming of Jesus Christ. And these things are fulfilled in such detail in the person and work of Jesus Christ, that it leaves no doubt as to his identity – He is Emmanuel, that is, “God with us.”

However, the Old Testament has even more to say about his second coming in which Jesus Christ will judge the living and the dead according their faith in Him. When we consider this, we must consider that as certainly as Jesus came the first time — right on time — in fulfillment of so many things, so also he will come this second time to bring the salvation plan to an eternal conclusion. Every human being at that time will go forward into eternal life, or into eternal condemnation.

Have you repented of your sin and trusted in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation? (Mark 1:15; John 3:16-18) The manner in which God has presented Jesus Christ shows clearly that there is no other way to be saved. (Acts 4:12) Please read these scriptures, consider these things, and contact Whites Run Baptist Church at whitesrunbaptist@gmail.com if you have any questions or need help in understanding these things. May God richly bless you as you search his scriptures!