The Birth of Jesus
Luke 2
The angel visits Mary
About two thousand years ago in a town called Nazareth in Galilee there was a young woman called Mary. One night the angel Gabriel came to her and told her she was going to have a baby boy and that she was to call him Jesus. The angel also told Mary that her son would be great and would be called the Son of God.
The journey to Bethlehem
Just before the baby was born, Caesar Augustus, the Roman Emperor, said that he wanted all the people in his empire to be counted. He did this so that he could collect tax from them. In order to be counted or registered, everyone was to go to the town in which they were born. Joseph and his wife, Mary, set off on the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in Judea. In those days you had to walk or you might have a donkey to ride on. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and Mary gave birth to a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. A manger was a feeding trough for animals and could be filled with straw.
The Shepherds
Out in the fields near Bethlehem there were shepherds looking after their flocks at night. An angel came to them and they were very scared. The angel told them not to be afraid for he was bringing good news. He said, “Today in Bethlehem a Saviour has been born. He is Christ the Lord and you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger”.
Suddenly a great number of angels appeared, praising God
When the angels had gone back to heaven, the shepherds went to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. They went out and told everyone all that had been told them by the angels. Everyone was amazed at what the shepherds said to them. The shepherds returned to their fields, praising God for all the things they had heard and seen.
The baby was given the name Jesus, the name the angel had told Mary to give him before he was born.
