This modified excerpt from Chapter 15 of The Short Bible: A Chronological Summary of the Old and New Testaments (WestBow Press, 2021) is based on accounts in Matthew 1:1–2:21 and Luke 1:5–2:20.

In 5 BC, when Herod was the Roman king in charge of Judah, a priest named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were living in Hebron, about 25 miles south of Jerusalem. Both were descendants of Aaron, the first high priest, and both were righteous in God’s sight and obeyed all of God’s commands. They had grown old without having any children, even though they often prayed to have a son.

One day an angel appeared to Zechariah when he was on duty burning incense inside the Temple. He was startled and instantly became afraid when he saw the angel. But the angel told him, “Don’t be afraid. God has heard your prayer. Your wife will have a son, and you will call him John. He will be great in God’s sight. He will never drink from the fruit of the vine. The Holy Spirit will fill him, even before he is born. He will bring many disobedient people of Israel to the Lord, and he will prepare the people for the Lord.”

Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man, and my wife is also old.”

The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in God’s presence and was sent to tell you this good news. But you won’t be able to speak until the child is born because you didn’t believe me.”

When Zechariah came out of the Temple, he couldn’t speak. Using hand motions, he described to those waiting for him that he had seen an angel but wasn’t able to talk about it. He went home and told Elizabeth about it in the same manner. When she got pregnant, she stayed in seclusion for five months.

When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, the same angel appeared to a young teenager named Mary who lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee about 70 miles north of Jerusalem. She was engaged to Joseph, a descendant of King David. The angel said to Mary, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!” Mary was confused and afraid when she heard this from a complete stranger who had suddenly appeared. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid. You have found favor with God. You will give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and be called the Son of the Most High. God will give him the throne of King David, his ancestor. He will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever.”

Mary asked the angel how it could happen — she was still a virgin. The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will be the father, and your relative Elizabeth will also have a child, even though she is very old. She is already in her sixth month.”

Mary was amazed that such an impossible thing would happen to Elizabeth. She immediately went to see Elizabeth, who lived nearly 100 miles away. As soon as Mary entered the room and greeted Elizabeth, the baby inside Elizabeth jumped and the Holy Spirit gave Elizabeth insight into what had happened to Mary. She said to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child of your womb! I am so blessed that the mother of the Lord has come to me.” Mary responded by glorifying God, and she stayed with Elizabeth for three months until her baby boy was born.

When it came time to circumcise the child, everybody expected he would be named Zechariah after his father, since that was the tradition. But Elizabeth said his name would be John. Her neighbors and relatives were puzzled — nobody in their families was named John. They turned to Zechariah and asked him to write the child’s name on a tablet. He wrote that it would be John. He immediately was able to talk, and he explained what had happened to him. He also made predictions about the boy’s life.

Praise be to the God of Israel who has come to redeem us. God has raised up a king of salvation in the house of David as the holy prophets said long ago, to remember the covenant made with our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies and enable us to serve God without fear all of our days. My child will be called a prophet of the Most High because he will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for God, to give people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. The rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death and guide us into the path of peace.

The Birth of Jesus

When Mary returned from being with Elizabeth, her fiancé Joseph found out she was pregnant. He was a faithful man who obeyed the Law, but rather than divorce her openly for being unfaithful (they were legally bound to be married even though they were only engaged), he considered divorcing her quietly. But as he was thinking about it, an angel appeared to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. The Holy Spirit of God is the father. She will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save people from their sins.”

This had been predicted by the prophet Isaiah: “The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Immanuel” (meaning “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel said — he took Mary home as his wife. But he would not consummate their marriage until she gave birth.

While Mary was pregnant, the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus decreed that there would be a census. Everybody had to return to their hometown where they could be counted. When Mary was close to giving birth, she and Joseph traveled south from Nazareth, in Galilee, into the hills to Bethlehem, a town close to Jerusalem, the City of David, because Joseph was a descendant of David.

The town was full of people returning home due to the census, and there was no place for them to stay. They were offered a place in a barn, and that is where Mary gave birth to her son. She wrapped him up using long strips of cloth, and she used a feeding trough for animals as a crib.

That night, a shining angel appeared to shepherds nearby who were watching their flocks. The shepherds were very frightened, but the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid. I bring you good news that will make everybody happy! A Savior was born today in Bethlehem. He is the Messiah, the Lord. Go and see him. He is the one wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Then suddenly, many other angels appeared and boldly shouted, “Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth. He will bring peace to those he favors.”

Then the angels disappeared. The shepherds all agreed to go find the baby. They hurried into town and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying in the manger. After they saw him, they told others about what had happened. Everybody was amazed when they heard their story.

When the child was eight days old, Mary and Joseph had him circumcised and named him Jesus. They also took him to the Temple in Jerusalem to go through the rite of purification that was commanded by Moses, and they presented him to the Lord with the required sacrifices. An old and faithful man named Simeon was in the Temple. God had told him that he would not die until he saw the Messiah. When Jesus appeared in the Temple with his parents, Simeon was overcome with emotion. He took Jesus in his arms and said, “Lord, you can take me now in peace. As you have promised, I have seen your salvation that you have prepared for all nations: a light for the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.”

Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, “This child will cause many people of Israel to fall and rise and will be spoken against, so the thoughts of many hearts are revealed. Also, a sword will pierce your own soul.”

After Simeon finished speaking, a very old woman named Anna came up to Mary. Anna was a prophet who had lived with her husband for a few years and then become a widow. She worshipped at the Temple night and day, fasting and praying. She gave thanks to God when she saw Jesus and spoke about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Three Wise Men

Prior to the birth of Jesus, priests from Persia (Magi) who studied the stars saw a bright light in the sky that convinced them that a new king was born in Judah. They traveled hundreds of miles and went to Jerusalem. They asked King Herod where the Jews’ king was born. The thought of another king worried the paranoid Herod and others in Jerusalem. Herod found out from the Jewish leaders that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, and he told the Magi to find the boy and report back to him about where he was. Herod told the Magi that he wanted to worship the boy himself.

The bright star hovered over Bethlehem a few miles away. The Magi went and found Jesus with his parents, and they fell down and worshipped the baby. They also gave the baby gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Before they left, they were warned in a dream to return home using a different route and not to tell Herod where Jesus was staying. After the Magi left, Joseph had a dream. He was to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt and stay there. Herod was looking for Jesus in order to kill him. Joseph got up immediately, and the family left for Egypt in the middle of the night.

When Herod realized that the Magi had left without telling him where Jesus was, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old or younger. Jeremiah had predicted this would happen.

The family stayed in Egypt until Herod died. This fulfilled what the prophet Hosea said: “I called my son out of Egypt.” Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law, and they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. Jesus grew up strong and was filled with wisdom. His ancestors went back many generations and included Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Boaz, Jesse, David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Hezekiah, Amos, and Josiah. Four women, including Rahab and Ruth (both foreigners), were also among his ancestors.