The Christmas Story
The Christmas Story
Mary, Joseph and Jesus
A Family Story
Mary was a young woman living in the small town of Nazareth down in Galilee. She was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter from the same town. He was a man who loved her very much. Each one of them were just regular people leading simple lives in an ordinary place.
One day, the Angel Gabriel came to visit Mary. The Bible doesn’t tell us where she was or what she was doing at that moment, but Gabriel told her that she would soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. And, Gabriel instructed her to name the baby Jesus.
Mary asked, “How can this be since I am a virgin?” The angel explained that the Holy Spirit would come upon her. Essentially, Gabriel was telling her, “Mary, you are going to be a pregnant teenager during your engagement. Prepare yourself for God’s plan for you and for the world.” In spite of the challenges ahead, Mary accepted God’s will without question. Through everything, she never doubted her place or her Son.
Now, Joseph had a big problem. It was Mary. Joseph was a kind man who suddenly faced an impossible situation! He knew that Mary’s baby could not be his since they had not yet been together as husband and wife. As a righteous man, he had the right to have Mary stonned publicly, but he loved her too much to do that. Instead, he decided to quietly end their engagement so that no one would shame her.
While Joseph was thinking about at it all, he fell asleep. In a dream, an angel appeared and assured him not to fear taking Mary as his wife because the child was from God and to name the baby Jesus. When Joseph woke up, he followed the angel’s instructions and took Mary home as his wife.
A few months later, Joseph and Mary became the earthly parents of Jesus, the Son of God, who would someday save His people from their sins. In the end, Mary turned out to be the best decision Joseph ever made.