I think it’s time you heard the story of Christmas; the true story. Not how Santa became who he is or how Jesus was born to a woman named Mary in a stable at an inn. No, I’m talking about the story of a baby named Joshua and how a 16-year-old girl gave birth to Him even though she wasn’t married.
Our story begins in a town called Nazareth. In this town, known for its huge Gentile population, lived a girl called Mariam. The girl lived with her parents, whose names I won’t bother you with since they don’t really appear at all in the story. One day, as the early fall wind blew dirt and dust around in the streets, Mariam was busy working; I’ll just say she was cleaning the perpetually dusty walls and mats, irate at the blowing winds. As she turned her back on the door to beat one of the mats she had hung up over a beam, she heard footsteps and a shuffling of something soft. Startled, she spun around, and adrenaline rushed through her as her blood drained from her face. There, standing in the mud doorway, was an angel. Even though she had neve seen one before, she knew it immediately. Its eyes shone like diamonds of fire; its massive wings barely fit through the door. Its muscles bulged with an energy like nothing she had ever seen before and its face shone like the sun. She couldn't do or say anything, and she dared not anyway lest the angel punish her. Then, it spoke,
“Don't be afraid, Marium, for you have found favor with God. and behold, you will become pregnant, and will bring forth a Son, and call His Name Joshua; He will be great, and He will be called Son of the Highest, and the LORD God will give Him the throne of His father David, and,” the angel, the messenger of God, continued, “He will reign over the house of Jacob for all ages; and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Now it isn't exactly clear what Mariam thought at this moment, but here's what she responded in a squeak, “How can that happen? I don't have a relationship with a man.”
The angel responded, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, therefore also the holy-begotten thing will be called Son of God; and behold, Elizabeth, your relative, she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her who was called barren; because nothing will be impossible with God.”
Now all this would have been great, and don't get me wrong, it was! Mariam, just a girl, was going to have the Savior of the world. There was just one problem. Mariam was already pledged to marry a man named Joseph, which meant people would think that she had sex with him before marriage, which in that land meant death by stoning. Of course, being only 16 and not knowing what else to do, she told Joseph. When she told him, he was enraged, and he probably thought she had gone out with another man. Being a righteous man, Joseph, according to the laws of his people, which had, he thought, been put in place by God, had to divorce her, since she hadn't been faithful to him. And this is where Joseph met the angel, but in a different way.
While he was sleeping, Joseph had a vivid dream. Perhaps, we could say, he was walking in the desert, the dust spraying up at him as he wondered what to do about Mariam, for something about divorcing her felt wrong. Suddenly a figure very much like Mariam’s angel floated down from heaven, its wings spread out like a bird, its eyes blazing and its face shining like the sun. And as if reading his thoughts spoke with an heir of authority he had never heard before,
“Joseph, son of David, you may not be afraid to receive your wife Mary, for that which was begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit, and she will bring forth a Son, and you will call His Name Joshua, for He will save His people from their sins.”
With a start, Joseph woke up. Immediately, he got up and headed to Mariam's house. Probably, they talked long into the night about the angel, and Joseph, being righteous, asked for forgiveness of his sin, wondering that his son, God's Son, would actually be the one to pay for it. Of course, this is speculation. Whatever happened that night, though, marked the beginning of a long journey, both figuratively and literally, for not long after, the King of Judea, Caesar Augustus, decreed that the entire world had to be registered. Okay, I know what you're thinking. The entire world?! Yes, the entire world, but not the whole globe. In fact, people thought the world was flat and consisted only of the Middle East. And yes, Caesar owned pretty much all of it. What's more, every man had to be registered in the city of his birth. Joseph had been born in Beth-lehem, which according to Google maps is 34 hours away by foot. If they were to walk eight hours a day, they would reach it in about four days. Okay. Maybe not too bad, but on foot, across the desert, it would be grueling. Plus, along with her own previsions, Mary had to carry a ten month old baby, so they would have to rest more and the journey would probably take more than a week. And it gets better. Mariam would have already started having regular contractions and they were now being forced to travel a huge distance because Cesar wanted to know how many people he ruled. Get the picture? Good.
And so Mariam and Joseph left for Beth-Lehem. Needless to say, the journey was grueling. They probably arrived at night. Let’s say they were walking the streets, trying to find the house when suddenly Mariam started having another contraction, this one way worse and longer than the rest. Quickly, they found their way to Joseph's family's house, shoving their way through the thick crowd of people, Mariam at this point probably crying in pain. They made it to their door, opened it, and found the room in front of them packed, both with his brothers who also had to be registered, and with family who had come for the celebration that was happening. There was absolutely no room for them in the guest room. Why none of Joseph's family members would leave to make room for them is anyone's guess. Most likely, though, they didn't want Mariam's blood all over the floor. At that point, Mariam's water broke, and there was no time for arguing. Joseph carried Mariam into the overhang on the street that acted as a stable, most likely with a few women to be wifemaids. Agonizing minutes ticked by. Then, Joshua’s head emerged and of course, he started screaming. And that was Christ’s birth. A few women out on the street delivering a screaming baby. The stars were blocked out by torchlight as men and women alike stared at the birth disgusted that it was done on the street in public. And with everyone watching, Mariam took swaddling cloth and wrapped her little Joshua tightly, and He stopped crying. But that was not the end.
For in the fields outside Beth-Lehem, shepherds were watching their sheep by night. Suddenly, they heard footsteps and turned around to see a man with wings like a massive eagle’s, eyes that blazed with an intensity they had never seen, and a radiance that was brighter than light. Immediately, they knew that this must be an angle of the Lord, and their hearts froze in fear. And then the angel spoke,
“Do not fear, for behold I am bringing you good news which will bring great joy to all people. Today, your Savior, the Lord Messiah, was born in the city of David. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloth and lying in a feeding trough.”
And what happened then cannot be described through words, but I will try. It was as if a thousand angles stepped through a doorway into our world and a beautiful sound of music unlike anything ever heard emerged from their throats, and like the sweetest, most harmonious choir, they sang a song, not like anything you would hear in a concert, but like an orchestra, if an orchestra could sing, “Glory to the God most High! And peace on the world, and good will be to all men!” And then, the angels all flapped thier wings with a great wind that seemed to shake the earth, and together they ascended into the night sky.
Now of course, the shepherds had to go see what the huge display was about, so immediately they left for Beth-Lechem. And as they came to the street and saw Mariam and Joseph and the baby lying in the feeding trough wrapped in swaddling cloth, it was like a dream had come true. The Messiah had been born! Of course, they did the only thing they could with the joy that overflowed from them. They stopped everyone in the street and told them of what had happened. They sang and shouted, and just rejoiced and spread the word that the Messiah, the savior of Israel had finally come! And being good shepherds, they went back to their flocks, but this time filled with a burning hope.
And the rest of the story, how a group of Magi came and brought gifts, how the priest and priestess witnessed the savior, and how Herodias (the Terrible) had all babies up to two years of age murdered, well that all took place after Christmas, so I will end it right here. For now.
How is this the true story?
That’s a good question. You see, oral stories tend with time to become exaggerated, shortened, and made more “relatable” to children. It’s like the game of Telephone. Eventually, after a few generations, you have a very different story. Luckily, the story of Joshua’s birth was written down by a man who had heard it from Joshua Himself so we only have to look back at it to get our facts straight. I took this story found in Luke and with many different translations of the Bible next to me (ESV, JUB, ISV, and KJV) along with Strong’s concordance, I rewrote the Christmas story to be as accurate as I possibly could. Okay, but why do I keep calling Him Joshua? Another good question. (Of course it is. I wrote it.) In the original story, Jesus, the name you all know, was Joshua (Jehoshua in Hebrew). Why then do we all call Him Jesus? I’m no scholar, but I suspect that it’s because the translators wanted to give God’s son a unique name to avoid confusion and because He was set apart. But if God Himself had named Him Joshua, why would they rename Him? I honestly don’t know. Perhaps I never will.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I did take creative liberties to make the story more engaging. If you want a completely accurate story, just read Luke’s account in the Bible. I could never beat a second-hand witness. And That’s all! Merry Christmas and now you know the true story of Christmas. Share it with your families!