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The Bible tells the Christmas story twice, once in Matthew and once in Luke, and from different sides. Matthew follows Joseph and the wise men. Luke follows Mary and the shepherds. Most of what people picture at Christmas comes from putting the two together.
This page starts with Luke's version, the one read aloud at most Christmas Eve services, then Matthew's, then what the prophets said centuries before. After that come short verses for a card, verses for the waiting of Advent, and some for a Christmas that is hard this year.
Also on Great Faith: Advent · Christmas Prayers
Luke 2:1-20 is the passage most families read on Christmas Eve. Here it is in three parts: the birth, the angels, and the shepherds going to see.
1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.
2 This was the first census to take place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3 And everyone went to his own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house and line of David.
5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to him in marriage and was expecting a child.
6 While they were there, the time came for her Child to be born.
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:1-7
8 And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night.
9 Just then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:
11 Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord!
12 And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying:
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests!”
Luke 2:8-14
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the Baby, who was lying in the manger.
17 After they had seen the Child, they spread the message they had received about Him.
18 And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, which was just as the angel had told them.
Luke 2:15-20
Matthew tells the birth from Joseph's side, a man with every reason to walk away who stayed. Then come the wise men, following a star from the east.
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and embraced Mary as his wife.
25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
2 asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
Matthew 2:1-2
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great delight.
11 On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew 2:9-11
Centuries before Bethlehem, the prophets named the town, the family line and the child's names. Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14, and the scribes quoted Micah 5:2 to Herod when the wise men arrived asking where the king was to be born.
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.
Micah 5:2
1 Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
Isaiah 11:1-2
5 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.
Jeremiah 23:5-6
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 3:15
Short enough to write by hand. Isaiah 9:6 is the one most people reach for, and 2 Corinthians 9:15 fits inside a gift tag.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
2 Corinthians 9:15
Advent is the four weeks before Christmas, and its Scripture is about waiting well. Psalm 130 waits for God the way a night watchman waits for morning. Titus 2 waits for both comings of Christ at once.
5 I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning—more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Psalm 130:5-6
3 A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Isaiah 40:3-5
4 But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.
Galatians 4:4-5
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.
12 It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
13 as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Titus 2:11-13
The New Testament is plain about what Christmas was for. He came to save sinners, to make the Father known, and to destroy the works of the devil, and He did it by taking the lowest place there was.
This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.
1 Timothy 1:15
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
John 1:18
The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:8
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8
Christmas lights can make a dark year look darker. Isaiah's great light was promised to people walking in darkness, not to people who had it all together. And Immanuel means God with us, a promise about His presence, not about our circumstances.
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
Isaiah 9:2
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
Psalm 34:18
4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:4-5
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.
4 ‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:3-4
Before anyone opens a present on Christmas morning, read Luke 2:1-20 aloud. It takes about three minutes. Give a verse to everyone who can read, and let the youngest reader have verse 11. It is the line the whole story turns on, and children remember being trusted with it.
A prayer you can borrow
Father, thank You for sending Your Son. You did not send a message or an idea. You came Yourself, as a baby in a borrowed manger, into a world that had no room for You. Thank You that You are still Immanuel, God with us, in this house and in this December. Help us make room for You. Amen.
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Luke 2:11, the angel's announcement to the shepherds that a Savior has been born in the city of David, who is Christ the Lord. Isaiah 9:6 (for unto us a child is born) and John 3:16 are close behind.
Matthew 1:18 to 2:23 and Luke 1:5 to 2:40. Mark begins with Jesus as an adult and says nothing about His birth. John tells it in one sentence: the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us (John 1:14).
No. Scripture does not give the date. Christians in Rome were celebrating His birth on December 25 by the fourth century, and most of the church has kept it since. What matters to the gospel writers is that He was born, not when.
Isaiah 9:6, Luke 2:11, John 1:14 and 2 Corinthians 9:15 (thanks be to God for His indescribable gift) are all short enough to write by hand. For a card to someone who is grieving, Isaiah 9:2 is gentler than most.
Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible, which is free of copyright restrictions for use on websites. Read the full Bible on Great Faith.