“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
–Isaiah 9:6

God’s Descent

A young woman named Mary was engaged to Joseph from King David’s family. Before they were married, she learned that she was going to have a baby by God’s Holy Spirit. The angel Gabriel greeted Mary and said, “You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you.” Then the angel told Mary, “Don’t be afraid! God is pleased with you, and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of God Most High. The Lord God will make him king, as his ancestor David was. He will rule the people of Israel forever, and his kingdom will never end.”

Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen? I am not married!”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come down to you, and God’s power will come over you. So your child will be called the holy Son of God… nothing is impossible for God!”

At that moment, Mary knew her life and reputation were ruined. What was her reply?

Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant! Let it happen as you have said.”

Joseph was a good man and did not want to embarrass Mary in front of everyone. So he decided to call off the wedding. While Joseph was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her. Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, and while they were there, she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.

In his Jewish history, Josephus wrote: “I found a geneology of Jesus in Jerusalem. Jesus was the illegitimate son, of an unfaithful woman”. Even during the time of Jesus ministry, when in his 30s, some Jews still mocked him, “We were not born from adultery”.

Through a shamefully pregnancy and a birth in poverty, God came into the world.

From the Koine Greek used in Scripture, Mary was a ‘very young girl’; probably fourteen or fifteen. She is in labor, in a strange town, with no place to have her baby. At last, they find a cave used to shelter and feed livestock. Joseph has to move animals out of the way so Mary has a room on the floor. Imagine the environment. Close, cramped quarters, filled with smell and sounds of livestock. Then, Mary’s travail; not much in the way of anesthetics back then. I imagine her cries of pain filling the cave. Then, rejoicing! Our Savior is born.

That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord’s glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. This very day in King David’s hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying in a bed of hay.”

Did angels descend from heaven and announce the Saviors birth to the kings, the influential, the aristocracy or even the high priests of the Temple? The angels announced the King’s birth to the shepherds in the field. The lowest caste in Jewish society.

Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said:

“Praise God in heaven!
Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God.”