Jesus Is Born

Long ago, the Roman emperor Augustus ordered that everyone in his lands be counted. Each family had to go to its home town to sign up. Joseph belonged to the family of King David, so he traveled with Mary from Nazareth in Galilee all the way to Bethlehem, David's town. Mary was expecting a baby, and it was a long, tiring trip.

When they reached Bethlehem, it was crowded, and every guest room was already taken. While they were there, Mary's baby was born. He was Jesus, the Son of God. Mary wrapped him snugly in cloths and settled him in a manger, the wooden box that animals eat from.

Nearby, shepherds were out in the fields, guarding their sheep through the night. Suddenly an angel from God appeared, and God's dazzling light blazed all around them. The shepherds were terrified! But the angel told them not to be afraid. He had wonderful news that would make everyone glad: that very day, in David's town, a Savior had been born. He was the Messiah, the Lord. The angel told them how they would know him: they would find a baby wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger.

Then a huge crowd of angels filled the sky, praising God and singing about peace on earth.

A Savior is someone who rescues. Jesus came to save us from sin and to bring us back to God.

When the angels had gone, the shepherds said to each other, Let's go to Bethlehem and see! They hurried and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger, just as the angel had told them. They told everyone what they had heard about this child, and people were amazed. Mary held on to every part of that night and kept thinking about what it meant. The shepherds went back to their flocks, thanking God and praising him the whole way.

God sent his Son as a tiny baby, not to a palace but to a stable, and his first visitors were ordinary shepherds. Jesus came for everyone.