Portal:Bible/Featured article/December, 2006

The Nativity refers to the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. According to the Gospel of Luke, Mary learns from the angel Gabriel that the Holy Spirit will cause her to be with child. Mary points out that she is a virgin and the angel responds that "with God nothing shall be impossible." She and her husband Joseph leave their home in Nazareth to travel about 150 kilometres (90 miles) to Joseph's ancestral home, Bethlehem, to register for a census ordered by Emperor Augustus. Finding no room at the inn, they lodge in a stable. There Mary gives birth to Jesus. An angel of the Lord goes to the fields and tells the shepherds the "good news of a great joy". The shepherds hurry to the manger to adore the infant Jesus.

In the Gospel of Matthew, magi arrive at the court of King Herod in Jerusalem and ask, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? We have observed the rising of his star, and we have come to pay him homage." Herod is disturbed by the magi's words and questions them closely, attempting to determine when the child was born. The king asks his advisors where the messiah is supposed to be born. They answer Bethlehem, which had been the birthplace of King David, and quote from the Book of Micah. "When you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage," a deceitful Herod tells the magi.

The magi follow the Star of Bethlehem, which leads them to a house where they find Jesus. The magi present Jesus with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. In a dream, the magi receive a divine warning of Herod's intent to kill the child, whom he sees as a rival. Consequently, they return to their own country without telling Herod the result of their mission. An angel tells Joseph to flee with his family to Egypt. Meanwhile, Herod orders that all male children of Bethlehem under the age of 2 be killed. After Herod's death, the family settles in Nazareth.

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