The Life of Jesus Christ - Chapter 1 - The Birth of a *Saviour - Part 7
Previous article | Life of Jesus Christ Index | *Word List | Next article
An online Bible Study course by Barrie Wetherill about the life of Jesus. This book is in EasyEnglish Level B. Use the links below for other online Bible Study books and commentaries that will help you. Or go to the Word List, which explains words with a *star.
Easy English Bible homepage | Matthew (commentary) | Mark (commentary) | Luke (commentary) | John (commentary)
The birth of Jesus was about 6 months after the birth of John
the Baptist.
However, just before Jesus was born, the Romans decided to count
the people. They wanted to know how many people would pay tax to the Romans.
Every family had to return to their first home. The Roman officials would count
them there.
Joseph and Mary belonged to the family of David. The family had
come from Bethlehem. They had to go to Bethlehem. That was far away. It must
have been a difficult journey for Mary. They were late when they arrived at
Bethlehem. There were many people in Bethlehem.
They had no place to sleep. There was no room anywhere.
So, the birth of Jesus was
in a shed. Animals lived there. Mary put the baby in a manger. [A manger is a
box that contains the food for animals.] The *prophecy said that the *Messiah
would come from Bethlehem. This *prophecy came true.
Micah 5:2: Bethlehem,
you are small among the families of *Judah. However, out of you will come one
for me. That one will be ruler over *Israel. I have planned this from ancient
times.
Joseph and Mary had to stay
near there for some time. They had to take Jesus to the *Temple after 40 days.
Some visitors surprised them. Some shepherds came. [They were men who looked
after sheep.]. They had seen *angels. The *angels had praised God. Christ the
*Lord was a baby in Bethlehem. The angels had told them this. Another group of
visitors were wise men. They gave wonderful gifts.
The visitors are interesting.
The shepherds were Jews. But some Jews might not respect them,
because the shepherds were poor. However, they must have been good men. They
pleased God.
The wise men were
foreigners. They were not Jews. They came from a country whose people did not
know the real God. However, God guided them. Now they had found this baby. He
would be greater than anyone that they had ever known.
Both groups of men showed
*faith. They did not give honour to a prince in a palace. The shepherds saw him
in an animal’s shed. The wise men came to a simple home. Jesus is the *Messiah
not only for the Jews. He is for all nations. The visits show us this.
The time came to take Jesus
to the *Temple. Two very good people were there. Simeon and Anna spoke to Joseph
and Mary. They praised God for the child Jesus.
Jesus had poor parents. They
lived in a poor house. But the *angels of God knew about Jesus. And they told some
good ordinary people about him.
©
2002-2005, Wycliffe Associates (UK)