The First Christmas - Bethlehem

Silence. After 400 years of not hearing the voice of God the time had come for Him to make His presence known once again to His people. But it certainly would be different this time.

In the Old Testament, God made His presence known through a burning bush, a pillar of cloud, an angel, a still, small voice. He was faithfully with His people, but there was also a distance—a reverent divide created by His holiness and mankind’s sin.

But this time—this time He would come closer than ever before. This time His feet would tread the earth. His laugh would fill a room. His presence would be made known in an entirely different way. He would be flesh and bone and grace and truth. He would be Immanuel—the incarnate Christ; He would be God with us.

And it all began in a town called Bethlehem a long time ago. That’s where heaven met earth in the first crying breath of a baby boy born on a quiet night in a stable. Joseph and Mary were the couple chosen by God to raise this child—the King of Kings and Lord of Lords—in His earthly home.

They had traveled to Bethlehem in response to a decree. This decree directed every man to return to the land of his fathers to be registered. So, Joseph brought Mary along with him, for they were engaged to be married.

She was pregnant, but the child was not Joseph’s. This child was knitted together by the Holy Spirit in her womb. This child would be a man born of a woman, but He would also be fully God in the flesh. This baby boy growing inside Mary was the One to bring life—to bring hope. He was the One who would change the world forever.