The History Behind the Christmas Story (part one)

Mary was very young when she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit and then gave birth to Jesus. But this was common in biblical days, to become engaged and marry young. It seems unfathomable to us sometimes that she would be mature enough to handle such a responsibility and yet she loved God so much that he chose her to mother the most important baby in the history of the world.

 Joseph was probably older than Mary. Most likely he had been around 30. His trade was a carpenter but it was seen more like a religious duty rather than a profession. They were most likely poor.

They were not unlike other couples in Israel at that time. They were both descendants of King David of Israel. However, Mary was also related to the traditional Priest families through her cousin Elizabeth.

Mary and Joseph lived in the small town of Nazareth which had a center for the temple priests where they could go to fast and pray when they were not on duty at the temple. Many people visited the town of Nazareth. It was here that Mary and Joseph had become engaged.

The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary while she was engaged to Joseph, to bring her the very important news that she was to become the mother of Jesus. He told her she was highly favored of God, which meant that His holy grace was upon her. She was a peasant girl and this was just not something normally said to a girl such as herself.

No doubt Mary was at first very scared but Gabriel had told her not to be afraid. But then she must have been confused as well. She had never been with a man. She was engaged to Joseph but she was still a virgin. How could this be? And that was when Gabriel explained that the Holy Spirit was to be the Father of this baby and she would name him Jesus.

Wow! What an undertaking. How must had Mary felt when she was given this news? She of all women in the country would become the mother of the Savior of the world? And not through any natural or human ways of becoming pregnant and giving birth to this Son that would one day grow up to save the world from its sin. Not only that, but Jesus would be fathered by none other than God himself!

Talk about a blended family? This was a real blended family. One of supernatural proportion! One as no other had known before or known since. But why? Why did it happen this way? Why did God see the need for such a Savior of this world?

And what about Joseph? Where did he fit in? The story continues....come back tomorrow for more.



Christmas Reading for Today:

The Word became a human being, full of grace and truth. He lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son. John 1:14.







Thanks for visiting today friends. I hope you are having a "holly jolly Christmas Season." But more than that, I pray you are having a "Season of God's Blessing!"

Todays source: An Angel Visits Mary -- The History of The Christmas Story -- whychristmas?com