The Christmas Story: The Birth of Jesus

The story in 6 steps

1. The angel visits Mary

   Luke 1:26–38

   In Luke, the angel Gabriel visits Mary, a young woman in Nazareth engaged to Joseph, a descendant of David. He tells her she will become pregnant through the Holy Spirit and have a son named Jesus, who will be known as the Son of God. Mary asks how this can be, then accepts, calling herself the Lord's servant.

2. Joseph's dream

   Matthew 1:18–25

   In Matthew, Joseph learns Mary is pregnant and, being a righteous man, plans to end the engagement quietly. An angel appears to him in a dream, tells him the child is from the Holy Spirit and that he should name him Jesus, because he will rescue his people from their sins. Joseph takes Mary as his wife. Matthew links the birth to Isaiah's prophecy of Immanuel, meaning God with us.

3. Born in Bethlehem

   Luke 2:1–7

   Luke says a census ordered by Caesar Augustus sends Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the town of David. There Mary gives birth to her firstborn son, wraps him in cloths and lays him in a manger, since the lodging had no room for them.

4. Angels and shepherds

   Luke 2:8–20

   Shepherds watching their flocks at night see an angel, who announces joyful news for everyone: a Savior has been born in David's town. A crowd of angels then praises God. The shepherds hurry to Bethlehem, find the baby in the manger, and spread the news, while Mary quietly holds on to all of it and ponders it.

5. The magi and the star

   Matthew 2:1–12

   In Matthew, magi from the east arrive in Jerusalem asking where the newborn king of the Jews is, saying they saw his star. King Herod is disturbed and learns from the scribes that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem. The star leads the magi to the house where the child is; they worship him and give gold, frankincense and myrrh, then go home another way after a warning in a dream.

6. Escape to Egypt and the return to Nazareth

   Matthew 2:13–23

   An angel warns Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt with Mary and the child. Herod, furious, orders the killing of all boys two years old and under in and around Bethlehem. After Herod dies, Joseph is told in another dream to return, and the family settles in Nazareth in Galilee.

The retelling above is our own summary, not Bible text. Read the full passage in Matthew 1:18–2:23.

Key verses

Verse text: Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain.

Who is in the story

• Mary — Mother of Jesus, visited by the angel Gabriel
• Joseph — Mary's husband from Nazareth, guided by dreams; not the Joseph of Genesis
• Jesus — The child born in Bethlehem
• Gabriel — The angel who brings the news to Mary
• The shepherds — Working men near Bethlehem who hear the angels and visit the baby
• The magi — Visitors from the east who follow a star and bring gifts
• King Herod — Ruler of Judea who sees the child as a threat

What the story teaches

Matthew and Luke tell the story from different angles. Matthew follows Joseph, highlights fulfilled prophecy and shows Jesus as the promised king from David's line, recognized by foreigners but threatened by a king. Luke follows Mary, highlights the poor and the humble, and shows the good news first announced to shepherds. Read together, they give the familiar Christmas picture.

Both Gospels present the birth as God's own initiative. The child is conceived by the Holy Spirit, and his names carry meaning: Jesus is linked with saving his people, and Immanuel means God with us. For most Christian traditions, this is the heart of the incarnation, the belief that God became human.

The setting is strikingly ordinary and fragile. The baby is laid in an animal's feeding trough, announced to shepherds rather than officials, and soon becomes a refugee in Egypt. Many readers see in this a pattern that runs through the Gospels: God working through the humble and overlooked.

Christian traditions celebrate these events in different ways and on different dates, and they view Mary with differing emphasis. The Gospel texts themselves focus less on dates and details and more on who the child is.

Trust in uncertain news

Mary and Joseph both accept a calling that would cost them reputation and comfort.

Good news for ordinary people

In Luke the first to hear are shepherds working the night shift.

Worship from unexpected places

In Matthew, foreign visitors seek the child while those nearby take little notice.

What the text does not say

Many familiar Christmas details come from later tradition rather than from Matthew or Luke. Knowing the difference helps when reading the texts themselves.

• How many magi there were. Matthew mentions three gifts but does not give a number of visitors; the idea of three came later, likely from the gifts. Names such as Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar are later tradition, and the Gospel does not call them kings.
• An innkeeper. No innkeeper appears in Luke. The Greek word often translated as inn can also mean a guest room in a house, and scholars differ on which is meant.
• Animals at the manger. A manger implies animals were nearby, but the text does not mention an ox or a donkey.
• December 25. The Gospels give no date. Celebrating on 25 December is later church tradition, attested from the fourth century; many Orthodox churches keep Christmas on 7 January because they follow the older Julian calendar.
• Magi at the stable. Matthew describes the magi finding the child in a house, and Herod targets boys up to two years old. Many readers take this to mean the magi arrived some time after the birth, possibly months later, though the text does not say exactly when.

The Birth of Jesus for kids

Questions for discussion

1. Why do you think Luke tells us the news came first to shepherds?
2. What do Mary's and Joseph's responses to the angel show about trust?
3. Why might Matthew include foreign magi and a hostile king in his account?
4. Which detail of the Christmas story surprised you when you read the actual text?
5. What does the name Immanuel, God with us, mean to you?

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