The Nativity Story

In the town of  Nazareth, there lived a young woman named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a carpenter named Joseph. One day, the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she had been chosen to be the mother of God’s son, and she must name him Jesus.

Mary and Joseph later got married. When Mary was due to have her baby delivered, Joseph had to take Mary to a long journey to his town, Bethlehem. Mary had to ride on a donkey during the journey.

When they reached the town of Bethlehem, Mary was very tired and needed a place to stay. But all the inns were full and there was nowhere they could stay. Finally, one kind innkeeper offered them his stable where they were welcome to stay. Mary and Joseph were thankful that they at least had a place to spend the night. It was warm, and there was plenty of straw to lie on.

That same night, a few hours later, something wonderful happened! Mary gave birth to her son in the

stable. She wrapped the baby in strips of cloth and laid Him in a manger.  Mary and Joseph had a baby! But it wasn’t just any baby, it was Baby Jesus! The creator of the whole world, the King of Kings, the one who would save the world.

On a hillside overlooking Bethlehem, while some shepherds were watching over their sheep, a bright light suddenly appeared in the sky! At first, they were afraid but when they opened their eyes, a beautiful angel appeared before them and announced the birth of the Son of  God in Bethlehem.

The shepherds hurriedly went to see the baby. When they arrived at the stable, they fell to their knees when they saw Baby Jesus lying in the manger. Their hearts were filled with joy for having found the Lord Savior of the world.

Soon after Jesus was born, far away in the East, traveling Wise Men noticed a new and very strange star in the sky.  They studied their scrolls and knew that whenever a bright new star appeared, it meant that a great ruler had been born.

During the time when Jesus was born there was a very mean king who ruled the land; his name was Herod. The Wise Men decided to find this new ruler and thought that the baby would be in the palace. They asked to see the child that would be King of the Jews. King Herod was troubled. He thought this new king might take away his throne. He told them to return when they had found the baby so that he too could worship the child.

The Wise Men set off to look for the baby. They did not know where exactly to find baby Jesus but they were guided by the bright star to the stable in Bethlehem. Here they knelt down before Jesus and worshiped him. They even gave him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh– expensive gifts fit for a King! 

That night the Wise Men were warned by an angel in a dream of King Herod’s real intentions – to kill Jesus. The angel told them not to go back to Herod’s palace.

So the Wise Men heeded the angel’s warning and went back to their own countries. Soon after, an angel appeared in Joseph’s dream and told him to take Mary and baby Jesus to safety in Egypt. They left right away. King Herod and his men did not find Jesus and he was safe.

Credits: The Nativity Story as originally appeared in Pambata Magazine.