#2 What Was Special About Jesus’ birth?

What was special about Jesus’ birth?

The mother of Jesus was Mary. She was still a virgin and engaged to be married to a carpenter named Joseph. She was told by an angel that she would give birth to God’s son. Joseph also received a revelation from an angel. He was told that the expected baby was from God, and that her pregnancy was not dishonorable. So, Joseph decided to uphold their engagement.

Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken of all citizens. All men had to return to their home town to be counted for taxation. Even though Mary was at the end of her pregnancy, they had to travel the long distance to Bethlehem which was Joseph’s birthplace in the tribe of Judah. Since everyone was returning to their hometowns for the census there were no rooms at any inn available for them to stay. One innkeeper offered them his stable which is where Mary gave birth to Jesus. Angels appeared to nearby shepherds announcing his birth and they came to see him. Later, Magi from the East came in search of him after seeing a new star which signaled the birth of a great King.

The Magi made the mistake of telling this to King Herod. He instructed them to return and tell him the child’s location. But they were warned by an angel leave a different way and not to return to him. Since Herod didn’t know the identity of the boy, he issued a decree to kill all Jewish boys aged 2 and under. Mary and Joseph took Jesus and fled to Egypt to hide him. Years later after Herod died, they returned to a small town named Nazareth in the fishing district of Galilee. Each of these events that took place fulfilled Old Testament prophecy:

1 Messiah would be born of a woman. Genesis 3:15
2 Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2
3 Messiah would be born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14
4 Messiah would come from the line of Abraham. Genesis 12:3 Genesis 22:18
5 Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob. Numbers 24:17
6 Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. Genesis 49:10
7 Messiah would spend a season in Egypt. Hosea 11:1
8 A massacre of children would happen at Messiah’s birthplace. Jeremiah 31:15