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Romans 10:9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

It is important to followers of Christ to know how he came into the world and how he was a fulfillment of several Scriptures were it was written he would come. The two accounts that we have of the birth of Jesus are found in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 2. These accounts paint the picture of what is called The Nativity of Jesus Christ. The blessed book of Matthew begins with a genealogy of Joseph, the human “father” of Yeshua. Through this account, the scholar of God’s Word can trace the promises and prophecies of the seed of David, but we’ll only briefly touch on that topic in this Bible study. Mary, the mother of Jesus, has her lineage traced in Luke 3. Matthew’s description of the events that transpired are set off by a very important verse that should not be overlooked:

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Matthew 1:18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

This verse sets the tone for all of the naysayers out there. Jesus was a child of the Holy Ghost and there is no question about it. He was not conceived through Mary and Joseph; he was conceived of the Holy Spirit in a truly miraculous birth. He was born of the virgin Mary. This verse also presents an important stage when compared to the previous verses that contain the ancestry of the father of Jesus. Notice from the phrase “on this wise” that Matthew is saying it occurred exactly in this manner. Even the phrasing of the verse contrasts with those containing some of the great men of Israel. Everything here screams for us to pay attention because something very, very important is about to transpire.

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Matthew 1:19Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

This verse is simple to understand; it means exactly what it says. Joseph was a good man and now his wife, out of wedlock, conceived a child. Obviously, under the Mosaic Law of the day, this would have been a problem. Had she been caught, she would have been stoned to death. The use of privily (Greek lathra) means secretly or privately. Here is the clue about what Joseph intended to do. He did not want to make it a public spectacle, but he was slave to the law – and the old enemy was working through this. Joseph was following the instruction of Deuteronomy 24:1:

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Deuteronomy 24:1When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

That was not the will of Our Father, however. It was clearly not a transgression of the law as Satan would have Joseph think. This in itself represents the problem with the law; importance was given to the law and it’s precepts over love for the LORD. Think Hosea 6:6. He desires love, not burnt offerings and empty observance of the law.

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Matthew 1:20But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

This one speaks for itself. Because of the action that Joseph was contemplating, the LORD sent him an angel to comfort him and explain to him that this was to be an important birth and that he was to follow through with this.

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Matthew 1:21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

The name Jesus is very important. The Aramaic – the language spoken by Jesus and those around him – would be Yeshua(Yashua). Yeshua is very similar to Hoshea which is often rendered Jehoshua, more commonly Joshua. Joshua, in Hebrew means savior. Jesus, in both the Greek and Aramaic means a very specific thing. The beginning is prefixed with Yah(Jah) meaning God and the rest meaning savior. The result is very specific; Yeshua/Jesus means “YHVH’s Savior” or “God’s Savior.” The purpose of Jesus the Christ could be no clearer than in this verse!

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Matthew 1:22-23Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

This was quoted directly from the Old Testament in the wonderful book of Isaiah. The verses can be found in Isaiah 7:13-15. This is an important link to the Old Testament and announces the fulfillment of an important prophecy on the coming of the Messiah.

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Matthew 1:24-25Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Joseph did the right thing here through the instruction of the LORD. He followed what the angel had told him to do. The Greek here is again very specific. Joseph and Mary had no interaction according to the Hebrew idiom. They lived together and were together, but Joseph held true to what he was told. We now jump to the Gospel of Luke, as the timeline picks up here. Keep in mind that we know Mary is pregnant with YHVH’s Savior at this time and everything in Matthew 1 has passed us. I will take the time to note that I have passed over Luke 1. I recommend that you take the time to read this chapter as it provides the foundation for both the verse of Jesus and John the Baptist who would prepare the way for Christ. Review this on your own time and ask for the LORD’s blessing and the understanding that only he can give and you will learn quite a lot. We shall now return to the Bible Study.

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Luke 2:1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

Note that world here would refer, as a synecdoche, to the world that the Roman Empire controlled at the time. There has been a lot of debate on this topic, and when it happen – even if it happened for that matter – but you can rest assured that God’s Word does not speak lies.

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Luke 2:2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

Cyrenius is Greek for Quirinus in Latin. The full name was Publius Sulpicius Quirinus and he was appointed as governor over Syria in a period that would coincide with the birth of Christ. Notice the part of the verse saying “when it was first made.” This means, quite obviously, this wasn’t the only time.

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Luke 2:3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

This practice can be confirmed by the existence of a fairly large number of Papyri in Egypt that describe such a process. Now we shall see what this meant for Joseph.

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Luke 2:4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David)

This confirms what was said back in Matthew 1 that Joseph was descended from the line of King David. In a bit of humor, the line that Joseph went up is literally true because the difference elevation for the areas of travel would have been around 1,500 feet.

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Luke 2:5-6To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

Notice that this verse gives us a somewhat vague timeline of events. It took place after Mary and Joseph were married – the Greek is specific on this. This gives Scriptural proof that the place of birth for Jesus was indeed Bethlehem. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is wrong.

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Luke 2:7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Jesus the Christ, the Savior of mankind is born! I don’t know about you, but when I hear this I have to sit back and imagine this wonderful child that will save the world comes into it with nothing more than rags around him while he lay where the farm animals get their food. Think about it. Is there room for Christ in you and in your home? Christ had yet to begin his ministry (it would be another 30 years) but he’s already teaching us something at his birth.

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Luke 2:8-12And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

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Luke 2:13-18And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

I let God’s Word do the telling here. There’s nothing for me to say; God’s Word says it all.

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Luke 2:19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

Mary held in all that she experienced and she weighed them within herself. She had been identified by God as the barer of Jesus and I think this moment shows us why she was chosen. She just gave birth to the Christ child but she went about it with humility.

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Luke 2:20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

The Shepherds have become the sheep here.

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Luke 2:21And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Further fulfillment of prophecy. It is important to note that Jesus was one of only four total named before their birth. The four being: Ishmael, Isaac, John, and Jesus. The exact reference to what was going on here with the eight day period can be found in Leviticus 12:3. In this case, the law held.