One day, God sent an angel called Gabriel to a young woman called Mary, who was going to get married to Joseph, a carpenter.. He told Mary that she was going to have a baby named Jesus who was going to be the Saviour of the world.
Mary was very surprised and said that she couldn’t have a baby because she was not married.
The angel told her that the Holy Spirit will make this happen, and that even her relative Elizabeth was also going to have a child.
Mary agreed to bow down to God’s will and then the angel left her.
Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth.
When she went to see Elizabeth, Elizabeth was very happy that Mary had come to see her and that Mary was going to have a baby who was going to be the Saviour of the world.
A dream
Even the baby in Elizabeth ‘s stomach seemed excited. Joseph, who was going to get married to Mary, had a dream. An angel told him that Mary was going to have a baby. The angel said that he should be named Jesus and that he would be the Saviour of the world.
Caesar Augustus who was the ruler of the Roman Empire wanted to count the people who belong to his empire, so all the people had to go to their home town.
Joseph had to go to Bethlehem because he was born there. He went there with Mary to get registered.
The Stable
They were looking for an inn to stay but all the inns were full. An inn keeper said that there was a stable, so they decided to stay there. Baby Jesus was born in the stable. Mary wrapped Jesus in a cloth and put him in a manger, which is a box with hay in it that the animals in the stable eat from.
While shepherds were watching over their sheep, an Angel told them not to be afraid and that the Saviour had been born in Bethlehem.
The angel also said that they will find Him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Many angels appeared and were praising God saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom His favour rests.”
Shepherds
The shepherds decided to go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord had told them about. They went to Bethlehem and saw Jesus and then they told everyone what they had seen.
Three Wise Men
Jesus had been born during the time of King Herod and three wise men came to King Herod’s palace and told him that they were trying to find Jesus.
They said that they had seen His star and that they wanted to worship Him . When Herod heard this, he told them to find the child and to tell him everything.
He wanted to have Jesus killed as he didn’t want any other king to take his place.
So, the Wise Men followed the star and went to Bethlehem. When they saw Jesus, they bowed down and worshiped him and gave Him gifts which were gold, frankincense and myrrh.
They were warned in a dream not to go back to King Herod. They went back to their country.
This is the story of the birth of Jesus, the Saviour of the world.
The Bible says that God loved us so much that he gave us Jesus, so that anyone who believes in Him will not be destroyed but will live with Him, forever.
Joel Fernando
Grade 7
S. Thomas’ College
Mount Lavinia