This Sunday (Dec. 10th) our evening worship will include a sermon relating to the birth of Jesus. Specifically, we will study from God's Word “what we know and do not know” about His birth.
What Do We Know About Jesus' Birth?
We know His birth was a historical reality. For example, the Bible provides a multitude of facts and details connected to the birth of Jesus including the actual names of people and places (Matthew 1:18 – 2:1). The “time” of His birth even coincided with a certain census, which required all people to be registered (Luke 2:1-7). An event that is considered a “myth” rarely has such detail attached to it. The birth of Jesus was as real as your own birth.
We know He was born of a virgin. The Old Testament makes reference to this fact in Genesis 3:15 and Isaiah 7:14. Can we be certain that Isaiah is speaking of the birth of Jesus? Yes! Matthew makes the connection between the prophecy of Isaiah and the virgin birth of Jesus in Matthew 1:18-23. You will also want to read Galatians 4:4. The virgin birth of Jesus – prophesied in the Old Testament and fulfilled in every way according to the New Testament.
We know He was born in Bethlehem. Again, the Old Testament predicted the place of His birth (Micah 5:2), and Matthew (Mt. 2:1-2) and Luke (Luke 2:1-7) both teach that this prediction was fulfilled. We can be certain of the place of Jesus' birth.
We know that shepherds visited Jesus at the time of His birth. According to Luke 2:8-16, the shepherds saw Jesus either the day or the night of his birth while He was still “lying in a manger” (Luke 2:16). By the way, “wise men” visited Jesus several months or maybe as much as a year after His birth. The events surrounding the birth and early life of Jesus probably unfolded like this: 1) Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-7); 2) The shepherds visited Jesus the day or night of his birth (Luke 2:8-16); 3) Jesus was circumcised the 8
th day (Luke 2:21); 4) At 40 days old, Jesus was presented at the temple (Luke 2:22); 5) Joseph, Mary and Jesus returned to Bethlehem; 6) They were visited by the wise men (Matthew 2:1-12). Please note that Matthew refers to Jesus at the time of the wise men's visit as being a “young child” and living in a house.
We know that there was great joy at the birth of Jesus. The angel said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people” (Luke 2:10).
