This is a preview of my latest book entitled A Dramatic and Prophetic Short Story: Jesus His Early Life. It is available at https://christianwritersbookstore.com/jonathon-wright I also have a sequel about the Prophetic Ministry of Jesus in the works. It is starting to take shape. I will keep you posted when the time comes closer. It takes time to make something worthwhile. Let me know what you think. Thanks so much.

Mary was excited, about the promise that God had given her.  God through the Holy Spirit was going to give her a child. And He would be God’s Son. This fact was further confirmed by many obvious symptoms associated with pregnancy.  Mary knew long before anyone else that she was having a baby. Yet, Mary had a problem. How and when would she tell her family and Joseph that the child was from the Holy Spirit?

Joseph, her husband-to-be, was away trying to establish himself and make a home for them. She briefly wondered if he or anyone would believe her. But she purposed in her heart to pray and trust God would intervene and help her. So she placed the whole situation in God’s hands. Her faith and confidence in God would not let her think or do otherwise.

Now, the day of her marriage was fast approaching. Mary noticed that her stomach was becoming bigger, and she was showing signs of being with a child. Her heart filled with excitement. But she also was afraid of what Joseph would think. She had not told him yet. But now, it was becoming harder and harder to hide the baby inside.

Joseph finally realized she was pregnant. Mary told him about the angel, Elizabeth, and all that God had told her. See Luke 1. Mary was relieved to finally tell him EVERYTHING. Mary was worried because of his candid reaction to the news. But, God was working to confirm that Mary was telling the truth. 

Joseph was on the verge of calling the wedding off and secretly putting Mary away. The more he thought about these things, the angrier and more betrayed he felt. “How could she do this to me?” “There is no way God is the father of this baby!!!” He could not sleep but finally dozed off from sheer exhaustion. Yet, it would not be long before his sleep was disturbed by a surprise angelic guest and a message from Heaven.

The angel told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife because the child was from the Holy Spirit. The child will be called Jesus because He will save His people from their sins. This was done to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, who said a virgin would give birth. This child would be called Immanuel, which means God with us.  See also Isaiah 7:14.

When Joseph woke up from his dream, he could not stop thinking about what happened. He sat up in bed thinking how unbelievable and bizarre this was. But he could not deny what he had seen and heard, especially the things written in the Old Testament. He was living out the fulfillment of something great. A virgin, aka his future wife, was going to give birth to God’s Son, the Messiah. He could not take it all in. Joseph tried to wrap his brain around all that was happening. In the end, he had to acknowledge that God was all-knowing and all-powerful. So Joseph took Mary as his wife and named the child Jesus, as the angel had told him.   

Some have raised questions about how these things could have happened. But the Creator of the universe knows all things and has the power to create. Whether it is from the dust of the ground or inside a woman’s stomach makes no difference. Yet, it is more amazing that God sent His Son into the world to save us from our sins. God stepped into Mary and Joseph’s life. He gave and confirmed this promise and then stepped in to save their marriage. Wow!!! What a great God we serve. And His Spirit still moves and does great things today.

Even though Mary was in the advanced stages of her pregnancy, Mary and Joseph had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where David, a great king of Israel, was born. They made this trip because of a census ordered by Caesar Augustus. When they arrived in Bethlehem, Mary was showing more signs that the baby could come at any minute.  They had to act fast. After much searching, Joseph finally came upon a kind man, with a barn and lots of hay. Joseph paid the man and said, “Thank you that is just what I needed. My wife is about to have a baby and needs a private soft place to lie down and have the baby.”

They were so thankful because the alternative of having a baby on the side of a crowded, hard road was not appealing. God’s timing could not have been better. As soon as Mary got off her feet, the baby was starting to crown. They had made it to the barn just in time. 

It is easy to think that Jesus, the future King, and Promised Son should have been born in a more elegant place. But a manger, a donkey stall, in the back of a secluded barn, who could have imagined? This was not the place for a baby to be born. Yet this is where God gave His greatest blessing to them and the world. And the family of Jesus was so thankful for what God blessed them with. 

Mary and Joseph, even though related to King David, were not royals or special people in the eyes of man. But God’s grace is like that you know. Yet God chose them to bring the Savior into the world. They were not affluent, but poor and average people who could not find a place to stay for the night. They had no midwives or anyone to help them with the birth. The couple, probably, did not have the time or money to find anyone. Mary and Joseph had to do this on their own. Mary herself had to wrap the baby in some old clothes. 

After the birth of Jesus, the barn was finally quiet. The cries and pains of giving birth were gone. Now as the new parents looked at their child there was a sigh of relief, joy, and peace. As they held the baby in their arms, they knew they had a wonderful gift, a precious and sacred child. The entire family was resting and bonding with the new baby. Even the baby finally dozed off to sleep. These are the times that a husband and wife wish would go on forever. Such quiet and peaceful times.  

Yet, shortly after this, Mary and Joseph would have an enormous crowd of unexpected visitors. Unknown to the new parents, the Creator of the Universe wanted the world to know about the birth of His Son. And He was about to make a proper royal announcement to a group of shepherds. The shepherds were in a field not too far away. It was dark, and they had worked all day taking care of their sheep. In the quiet of the night, the shepherds were all alone with the sheep and the stars. Suddenly, an unexpected flash of light and an ANGEL appeared to them. The Glory of the Lord surround them and brought them to their knees. 

If we read these verses too fast, it is easy to miss the significance of what God was doing. The Lord, Himself, surrounded the Shepherds and Angels with His Glory. Moses, the greatest leader of Israel, once prayed for God to show him His Glory. But God had to hide Moses in the cleft of a rock until He passed by. No one could see God’s face and live. See Exodus 33:18-23. Yet now the Glory of God was surrounding these Angels and Shepherds. God was revealing Himself in even greater ways to them to announce the birth of His Son. But the angel’s appearance terrified and frightened them to the core. God’s Glory was too much for them to take in. For a brief moment, they were motionless, crippled by all that was happening. 

“10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:10-12. NIV.

SUDDENLY, a great company of many more Angels appeared. They praised God, giving glory to Him for His peace and goodwill toward men. The Angels said these wonderful things and then immediately vanished from their sight.

After the angels left, the shepherds wanted to go to Bethlehem and see this child the Lord had told them about. They went and found the child in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes, as the Angel told them. They all stood in awe and wonder as they stared intently at Jesus. They wondered if He would be like Moses or other great kings. And it was all happening right before their eyes.

Mary and Joseph, before the Shepherds came, may have felt alone. But now the barn was crammed full of people and animals. Mary and Joseph never dreamed the barn could hold this many people. There was so much contagious joy and celebration in the air. Everyone was celebrating that the Promised Messiah had finally come. And they all wanted to see and hold the baby in their arms.

Many hours later, the Shepherds knew it was time to go. But they went home praising and rejoicing in God. On their journey home, they told everyone they saw and knew about the Messiah and Lord that had been born. Surely the whole town must have been in an uproar. The long-awaited promise given to David was now coming to pass.