# The Christmas story in the Bible The Christmas story is in two places: Matthew 1:18 to 2:23 and Luke 1:26 to 2:40. Luke has Mary, the manger, and the shepherds. Matthew has Joseph, the star, and the magi. Source: https://www.lumin.faith/christmas. Scripture quotations are from the Lumin Translation. ## The story, scene by scene ### 1. The promise ([Isaiah 9:2-7](https://www.lumin.faith/read/isaiah/9#2-7)) The story starts long before Bethlehem. About 700 years earlier, Isaiah wrote of a child who would be born to rule on David’s throne. > For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us, and authority will rest on his shoulder. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) ### 2. Gabriel visits Mary ([Luke 1:26-38](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/1#26-38)) In Nazareth, the angel Gabriel tells Mary she will have a son and name him Jesus. She asks how, and then says yes. > The angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found favor in God’s eyes. Listen: you will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will give him the name Jesus. (Luke 1:30-31) ### 3. Mary’s song ([Luke 1:39-56](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/1#39-56)) Mary visits her relative Elizabeth, who is expecting John the Baptist. Mary answers her greeting with a song of praise, often called the Magnificat. > Then Mary said, “My soul declares the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit is overjoyed in God my Savior, (Luke 1:46-47) ### 4. Joseph’s dream ([Matthew 1:18-25](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/1#18-25)) Joseph plans to end the engagement quietly. An angel tells him in a dream to take Mary home as his wife and to name the child Jesus. > But while he was turning this over in his mind, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to receive Mary as your wife, because it is by the Holy Spirit that the child has been conceived in her. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, for he is the one who will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21) ### 5. The road to Bethlehem ([Luke 2:1-5](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#1-5)) Caesar Augustus orders a registration, and everyone goes to his own town. Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the town of David. > Joseph too went up from Galilee, out of the town of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, since he came from the house and clan of David, (Luke 2:4) ### 6. The birth ([Luke 2:6-7](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#6-7)) Luke tells the birth in one sentence. Mary wraps her son in cloth and lays him in a manger, a feeding trough for animals. > and she bore a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him down in a manger, since the guest room had no space for them. (Luke 2:7) ### 7. The angel and the shepherds ([Luke 2:8-12](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#8-12)) The first people told are shepherds, out in the fields at night. An angel gives them the news and a sign to look for. > The angel told them, “Do not be afraid, for look, I am proclaiming to you good news of great joy that will belong to all the people: this very day in David’s city a Savior has been born for you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11) ### 8. Glory to God in the highest ([Luke 2:13-14](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#13-14)) A crowd of angels appears with the first one, praising God. > All at once there was with the angel a vast crowd of heaven’s army, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people in whom he delights!” (Luke 2:13-14) ### 9. The shepherds find him ([Luke 2:15-20](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#15-20)) The shepherds hurry to Bethlehem, find the baby in the manger, and tell everyone what they were told. Mary keeps all of it in her heart. > They went quickly and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and to the baby lying in the manger. … But Mary held on to all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. (Luke 2:16, 19) ### 10. The star and the magi ([Matthew 2:1-12](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/2#1-12)) Magi from the east see a star rise and come to Jerusalem asking for the newborn king. The star leads them on to Bethlehem. They find the child with Mary in a house, worship him, and give 3 gifts. > At the sight of the star, they rejoiced with very great joy. They went into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling down, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:10-11) ### 11. The escape to Egypt ([Matthew 2:13-23](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/2#13-23)) King Herod wants the child dead. Warned in a dream, Joseph takes Mary and Jesus to Egypt by night. After Herod dies, they settle in Nazareth. > Once they had left, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I give you word, because Herod is about to hunt for the child to destroy him.” (Matthew 2:13) ### 12. What it means ([John 1:1-18](https://www.lumin.faith/read/john/1#1-18)) John has no manger and no shepherds. He begins before creation and says in one line who the child is. > The Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us. We looked on his glory, glory like that of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) ## Films - [The Christmas story](https://www.lumin.faith/watch/christmas/the-christmas-story) (3:02): The Christmas story as the Bible tells it, in order: the promise in Isaiah, Gabriel and Mary, Joseph’s dream, Bethlehem, the manger, the shepherds, the star and the magi. Every verse is from the Lumin Translation. - [Were there three wise men?](https://www.lumin.faith/watch/christmas/three-wise-men) (0:43): The Bible never says how many. Matthew writes “magi from the east” and gives no number and no names. People count 3 because there were 3 gifts. - [Was there an innkeeper?](https://www.lumin.faith/watch/christmas/the-innkeeper) (0:47): There is no innkeeper in the Bible. Luke says only that the guest room had no space for them. Nobody speaks, and nobody sends them away. - [Was Jesus born on December 25?](https://www.lumin.faith/watch/christmas/december-25) (0:45): The Bible gives no date. Neither Matthew nor Luke names a day, a month, or a season. Luke dates the birth by a Roman registration. Churches were keeping December 25 by the 300s. ## Is it in the Christmas story? ### Three wise men came to see Jesus. **Not in the Bible.** The Bible never says how many. Matthew says “magi from the east” came. He gives no number and no names. People count 3 because there were 3 gifts. He does not call them kings either. > Once Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the time of King Herod, magi from the east made their way to Jerusalem ([Matthew 2:1](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/2#1)) ### Mary laid the baby in a manger. **In the Bible.** Yes. Luke 2:7 says so. A manger is a feeding trough for animals. It is also the sign the angel gives the shepherds: a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger. > and she bore a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him down in a manger, since the guest room had no space for them. ([Luke 2:7](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#7)) ### An innkeeper turned Mary and Joseph away. **Not in the Bible.** There is no innkeeper in the Bible. Luke says only that there was no space for them in the guest room. Nobody speaks, and nobody sends them away. The innkeeper comes from plays and paintings. > and she bore a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him down in a manger, since the guest room had no space for them. ([Luke 2:7](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#7)) ### Mary rode a donkey to Bethlehem. **Not in the Bible.** No donkey is mentioned. Luke says Joseph went up from Nazareth to Bethlehem with Mary, who was pregnant. He does not say how they travelled. She may have ridden. The text does not tell us. > Joseph too went up from Galilee, out of the town of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, since he came from the house and clan of David, to register together with Mary, to whom he was engaged; she was pregnant. ([Luke 2:4-5](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#4-5)) ### Shepherds were watching their sheep at night. **In the Bible.** Yes. Luke 2:8 says so. They were staying out in the open country, guarding the flock through the night, when the angel came. > There were shepherds in that same area who were staying out in the open country, standing guard over their flock through the night. ([Luke 2:8](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#8)) ### Jesus was born on December 25. **Not in the Bible.** The Bible gives no date. Neither Matthew nor Luke names a day, a month, or a season. Churches were keeping December 25 by the 300s. Luke dates the birth another way: by a Roman registration. > In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree for the whole world to be registered. This registration was the first one, carried out when Quirinius was governing Syria. ([Luke 2:1-2](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#1-2)) ### A star led the magi to the child. **In the Bible.** Yes. Matthew 2:9 says so. They saw the star when it rose, and it went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. > When they had heard the king out, they set off, and there was the star they had seen as it rose, leading them on until it came and halted over the place where the child was. ([Matthew 2:9](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/2#9)) ### The angels sang to the shepherds. **Not in the Bible.** Luke says they were “saying,” not singing. This one is close. A crowd of angels praised God, and Luke gives their words. He writes “saying.” Singing is a fair guess, and the carols went with it, but the word is not in the text. > All at once there was with the angel a vast crowd of heaven’s army, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people in whom he delights!” ([Luke 2:13-14](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#13-14)) ### The wise men knelt at the manger with the shepherds. **Not in the Bible.** They came to a house, and likely later. The shepherds came the same night and found a baby in a manger. The magi “went into the house” and saw a “child.” Herod’s order to kill boys two and under suggests some time had passed. > They went into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling down, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ([Matthew 2:11](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/2#11)) ### The gifts were gold, frankincense, and myrrh. **In the Bible.** Yes. Matthew 2:11 names all 3. Gold, and two costly resins: frankincense, burned as incense, and myrrh, used in perfume and in burial. > They went into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling down, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ([Matthew 2:11](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/2#11)) ### A little drummer boy played for the baby. **Not in the Bible.** He comes from a song written in 1941. No drummer appears in Matthew or Luke. The Bible’s visitors are the shepherds and, later, the magi. > They went quickly and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and to the baby lying in the manger. ([Luke 2:16](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#16)) ### The family fled to Egypt. **In the Bible.** Yes. Matthew 2:13-14 says so. An angel warned Joseph in a dream that Herod was looking for the child. Joseph left that night and stayed in Egypt until Herod died. > Once they had left, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I give you word, because Herod is about to hunt for the child to destroy him.” So Joseph got up, and during the night he took the child and his mother and went away to Egypt. ([Matthew 2:13-14](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/2#13-14)) ## Carols, checked against the Bible - **[Joy to the World](https://www.lumin.faith/christmas/carols/joy-to-the-world)** (Isaac Watts, 1719). Watts wrote it as a version of Psalm 98, where the sea, the rivers, and the hills sing because the Lord is coming. It is not about the manger at all. [Psalm 98:4-9](https://www.lumin.faith/read/psalm/98#4-9). - **[Hark! The Herald Angels Sing](https://www.lumin.faith/christmas/carols/hark-the-herald-angels-sing)** (Charles Wesley, 1739. Opening lines altered by George Whitefield, 1753). The opening is the angels’ words to the shepherds. “God and sinners reconciled” echoes Paul, and “risen with healing in his wings” comes from Malachi. [Luke 2:14](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#14), [2 Corinthians 5:19](https://www.lumin.faith/read/2-corinthians/5#19), [Malachi 4:2](https://www.lumin.faith/read/malachi/4#2). Added: Luke says the angels were “saying” their praise. He does not say they sang. - **[Silent Night](https://www.lumin.faith/christmas/carols/silent-night)** (Joseph Mohr, first sung in 1818. English words by John Freeman Young, 1859). The shepherds, the angels, and the baby asleep come from Luke 2. [Luke 2:8-16](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#8-16). Added: Luke never says the night was silent or calm. He tells of a crowd of angels praising God. - **[O Come, All Ye Faithful](https://www.lumin.faith/christmas/carols/o-come-all-ye-faithful)** (Latin hymn, 1700s. English words by Frederick Oakeley, 1841). “Come to Bethlehem” is what the shepherds say to each other. “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing” is John 1:14. [Luke 2:15](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#15), [John 1:14](https://www.lumin.faith/read/john/1#14). - **[O Little Town of Bethlehem](https://www.lumin.faith/christmas/carols/o-little-town-of-bethlehem)** (Phillips Brooks, 1868). Micah calls Bethlehem too small to count among the clans of Judah, and says a ruler will come from it. [Micah 5:2](https://www.lumin.faith/read/micah/5#2), [Matthew 2:5-6](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/2#5-6). Added: The still streets and the deep sleep are the poet’s picture, not the Bible’s. - **[Away in a Manger](https://www.lumin.faith/christmas/carols/away-in-a-manger)** (Unknown, United States, 1880s). The manger and the lack of a bed are from Luke 2:7. [Luke 2:7](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#7). Added: The second verse says the cattle are lowing and the baby does not cry. Neither is in the Bible. Luke names no animals at the manger. - **[We Three Kings](https://www.lumin.faith/christmas/carols/we-three-kings)** (John Henry Hopkins Jr., 1857). The star, the journey from the east, and the gold, frankincense, and myrrh are from Matthew 2. [Matthew 2:1-2](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/2#1-2), [Matthew 2:11](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/2#11). Added: Matthew calls them magi. He does not say there were three, and he does not call them kings. - **[O Come, O Come, Emmanuel](https://www.lumin.faith/christmas/carols/o-come-o-come-emmanuel)** (Latin hymn. English words from John Mason Neale’s translation, 1851). Emmanuel is the name in Isaiah’s sign, and Matthew gives its meaning: God with us. The carol is a prayer of waiting, which makes it an Advent song. [Isaiah 7:14](https://www.lumin.faith/read/isaiah/7#14), [Matthew 1:23](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/1#23). ## Readings for Christmas Eve - [Luke 2:1-20](https://www.lumin.faith/read/luke/2#1-20): The birth and the shepherds. About 3 minutes aloud. - [Matthew 2:1-12](https://www.lumin.faith/read/matthew/2#1-12): The star and the magi. About 2 minutes. - [Isaiah 9:2-7](https://www.lumin.faith/read/isaiah/9#2-7): The promise of a child. About 1 minute. - [John 1:1-14](https://www.lumin.faith/read/john/1#1-14): The Word became flesh. About 2 minutes. ## Questions about the Christmas story ### Where is the Christmas story in the Bible? In Matthew 1:18 to 2:23 and Luke 1:26 to 2:40. The best-known part, the manger and the shepherds, is Luke 2:1-20. The magi and the star are in Matthew 2:1-12. ### Which Gospel has the shepherds, and which has the wise men? Luke has the shepherds, the manger, and the angels. Matthew has the magi, the star, King Herod, and the escape to Egypt. Neither Gospel has both, which is why a nativity scene puts two accounts together. ### How many wise men were there? Matthew does not say. He calls them magi from the east and names three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The number three most likely comes from the gifts. They came to a house, not to the manger. ### Where was Jesus born? In Bethlehem in Judea, the town of David, about 6 miles south of Jerusalem (Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:4-7). Luke says Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth in Galilee and went to Bethlehem for the registration. ### Was Jesus born on December 25? The Bible does not give a date. Luke ties the birth to a registration under Caesar Augustus, and neither Gospel names a month or a season. Churches were keeping December 25 by the 300s. ### What should we read on Christmas Eve? Luke 2:1-20 is the usual reading and takes about 3 minutes aloud. For a longer reading, add Isaiah 9:2-7 before it and Matthew 2:1-12 or John 1:1-14 after it. ### Do Mark and John tell the Christmas story? No. Mark begins with John the Baptist and Jesus as an adult. John begins before creation: “In the beginning was the Word,” and then, “The Word became flesh.” ### Is the word “Christmas” in the Bible? No. The word came centuries later. The Bible tells of the birth of Jesus and does not command a feast day for it. Christians have kept one since the early centuries, and some Christians do not.