The Christmas Story - Luke's Version
To prepare your family and yourself for Christmas, tune into Luke’s Version of the Christmas story in this episode. He may not mention an inn keeper, a donkey or any wise men at all, but it is all straight from the Bible - an accurate account that is nearly 2000 years old!
Here are the bible verses quoted in today's episode:
Bible Passage: Luke 1-2
When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest by the name of Zechariah. His wife was Elizabeth and Both of them were good people and pleased the Lord God by obeying all that he had commanded. But they did not have children. Elizabeth could not have any, and both Zechariah and Elizabeth were already old.
One day an angel from the Lord appeared to Zechariah at the right side of the altar in the temple. Zechariah was confused and afraid when he saw the angel. But the angel told him:
Don't be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayers. Your wife Elizabeth will have a son, and you must name him John. His birth will make you very happy, and many people will be glad. Your son will have the power of the Holy Spirit with him from the time he is born.
John will lead many people in Israel to turn back to the Lord their God. John will get people ready for the Lord.
Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this is going to happen? My wife and I are both very old.”
The angel answered, “I am Gabriel, God's servant, and I was sent to tell you this good news. 20 You have not believed what I have said. So you will not be able to say a thing until all this happens. But everything will take place when it is supposed to.”
The crowd was waiting for Zechariah and kept wondering why he was staying in the temple so long. When he did come out, he could not speak, and they knew he had seen a vision. He motioned to them with his hands, but did not say a thing.
Soon after this, his wife was expecting a baby.
One month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the town of Nazareth in Galilee with a message for a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph from the family of King David. The angel greeted Mary and said, “You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was confused by the angel's words and wondered what they meant. 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 even 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. Your relative Elizabeth is also going to have a son, even though she is old. No one thought she could ever have a baby, but in three months she will have a son. Nothing is impossible for God!”
Mary said, “I am the Lord's servant! Let it happen as you have said.” And the angel left her.
A short time later Mary hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea. She went into Zechariah's home, where she greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, her baby moved within her.
The Holy Spirit came upon Elizabeth. Then in a loud voice she said to Mary:
God has blessed you more than any other woman! He has also blessed the child you will have. Why should the mother of my Lord come to me? As soon as I heard your greeting, my baby became happy and moved within me. The Lord has blessed you because you believed that he will keep his promise.
Mary said:
With all my heart
I praise the Lord,
and I am glad
because of God my Savior.
God cares for me,
his humble servant.
From now on,
all people will say
God has blessed me.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months. Then she went back home.
When Elizabeth's son was born, her neighbors and relatives heard how kind the Lord had been to her, and they too were glad.
Eight days later they did for the child what the Law of Moses commands. They were going to name him Zechariah, after his father. But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John.”
The people argued, “No one in your family has ever been named John.” So they motioned to Zechariah to find out what he wanted to name his son.
Zechariah asked for a writing tablet. Then he wrote, “His name is John.” Everyone was amazed. At once, Zechariah started speaking and praising God.
All the neighbors were frightened because of what had happened, and everywhere in the hill country people kept talking about these things. Everyone who heard about this wondered what this child would grow up to be. They knew the Lord was with him.
As John grew up, God's Spirit gave him great power. John lived in the desert until the time he was sent to the people of Israel.
This John is known as John the Baptist.
About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books.
Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David's hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David's family.
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.
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 on a bed of hay.”
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.”
After the angels had left and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let's go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.” They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay.
When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told his parents what the angel had said about him. Everyone listened and was surprised. But Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant.
As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him. Everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said.
Eight days later Jesus' parents did for him what the Law of Moses commands. And they named him Jesus, just as the angel had told Mary when he promised she would have a baby.
Today's Questions:
How can we fix our eyes on Jesus this Christmas?
How can we help those we know around us to fix their eyes on Jesus this Christmas?
What is a Christmas tradition that you might like to start and do every December that can help you to focus on Jesus?
