Fact or Fiction


Prayer: Dear Lord, Your story is amazing because it displays nothing but love and grace for the believer. May I spend these moments today with You. Please help me stay focused on the Word and on Your voice. May my heart be moved by Your love and may my faith grow as I read and meditate today. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Read: Luke 1:26-45
http://www.esvbible.org/Luke 1-26

Thoughts: For over 2,000 years we have marveled at the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is believed that the book of Luke contains the most details about the birth of Christ because Mary herself told the story to Luke and he wrote it down. Both John and Mark contain almost no birth story details and Matthew contains information that would be pertinent to Jewish readers, as he makes a case for Jesus as the long awaited Messiah. Luke gives intimate detail that makes the story come alive and is the major source of our beloved Christmas story.

There are many elements of our version of the Christmas story that do NOT appear in Scripture. They are born out of tradition. If you read the Luke and Matthew texts, you will find several things that we take for granted as being a part of the story but are not actually found in the Bible. Such as:
  • Mary riding on a donkey. Not mentioned in the text. She probably walked. Can you imagine riding a donkey while pregnant? That would be quite a trick all by itself.
  • Jesus birth was the same night they arrived. The text doesn’t say that. Sometime after they got to Bethlehem, Jesus was born. It could have been days or even weeks later.
  • Jesus born in a stable. Probably not. More likely a cave or the side of the house where the people kept their animals. And it wasn’t an “inn” like the Holiday Inn. It was the back or upper room of someone’s home.
  • Three wise men visited Jesus. We don’t know that. There were three gifts but we don’t know how many magi came to visit the Christ Child. It could have been less than three or way more than that. And the wise men didn’t visit the night Christ was born. They could not have made the trip that quickly as jets were not yet available. It took them time to follow the star.
  • Jesus born on December 25. No, probably not. We don’t know the date. One scholar (Dr. Paul L. Maier) says the date was April 5 between 3-5 BC. December 25 was chosen by the early church fathers in order to redeem a pagan holiday. So the picture of Mary and Joseph trudging through the snow with her on a donkey comes out of the European history and tradition not the Bible.
While our mental images of the birth of Christ may be somewhat skewed by tradition, the facts as reported in the Scripture are true and in many cases absolutely remarkable not the least of which is the virgin birth. Almost as miraculous as Jesus’ birth is the acceptance by Mary of her position as the mother of the Savior. She bows to this honor with grace and obedience and that is our take-away point for today!

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for the miraculous story of Your birth. Help me to see it in truth and for the wonderful Gift that You are to me every single day. Help me to know that despite the details of Your arrival, You came for me and grant me life everlasting in Your gracious forgiveness. In Your name I pray. Amen.

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