The Nativity Story

Of all the stories depicting Christ's birth, The Nativity Story is my favorite Christmas movie. Why? Because it is one of the few that concentrates not just on the birth of Jesus, but the faith and courage that Mary and Joseph had to have to carry out the task that they were chosen for.


First we are presented with the thoughts and emotions dealt by Mary when visited by the angel Gabriel who tells Mary:

"Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!
Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus."

And when the angel explains to Mary that when the Holy Spirit comes upon her she will be barren with child, naturally Mary, who has yet to be with Joseph in marriage, asks,

"How will anyone believe me? How will they understand?"

Now Mary's feeling at that moment had to be one of fear: a fear of being stoned for being pregnant before marriage, a fear of what her family might think, and especially a fear of what Joseph might think.



The angel also informs Mary that her relative Elizabeth, who is very old in age, is barren with child.
So when Mary goes to visit Elizabeth, she sees that the Word from the Lord is indeed true, and Mary herself receives a renewed confidence in God.

Upon Mary's return home and visibly pregnant, her family wassn't so cordial. And neither was Joseph.
As for Joseph, the Bible says he was a just man: a man who was upright, blameless, and righteous. So Joseph's natural instinct when seeing Mary with child had to be one of anger and disappointment.



Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. (in other words possibly hide her somewhere and not wishing to be betrothed to Mary anymore)



So we see Joseph lying in bed that night in a state of confusion and filled with anger and possibly thinking "How could she betray me."



But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying " Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.



So far we've gathered the notion that God has chosen Mary and Joseph to be together for a reason: He knew He could trust them to carry out His will. Mary, a highly favored woman of God, and Joseph, a just man.



At that time King Herod makes an unruly demand: each man, with his family, must return to his place of birth for a census. Which meant Joseph and Mary had to travel close to 70 miles on a donkey over rugged, rocky terrain from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where the baby Jesus would be born in a stable.
As we follow their journey to Bethlehem, it's hard not to imagine the struggle they both had to endure. Shortage of food and water, Mary barren with child and probably in much pain physically throughout the trip, the blisters upon Joseph's feet as he most likely walked the whole duration.

And of course, the faith and determination Mary and Joseph carried out to fulfill the prophecy that was made many years ago.

After the birth of Jesus, some shepherds tending their flocks are confronted by an angel declaring that Christ the Son of God has been born and then a multitude of angels appear proclaiming,

"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

The shepherds travel to Bethlehem to see their new King then:

Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this child.
And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things and pondered (consider deepily) them in her heart.

Mary had the right idea, keeping close to her heart the name of Jesus.

So, who is this High Priest we are celebrating this week?

But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession (to fall in with, to meet with in order to converse) for them.

God is unchangeable and loves to intercede on your behalf. May you keep Him close to your heart, not just at Christmastime, but all year around.

(texts are taken from Mathew chpt.1, Luke chpt.2, and Hebrews chpt.7)