Luke 2
One day, Caesar Augustus sent out a decree that every family should be accounted for. In order to do that, he ordered everyone to return to the place they were from. That meant that Joseph had to go to Judea to a place called Bethlehem in the City of David. Mary also went with Joseph, even though she was pregnant and the journey was hard.
When they got to Bethlehem, it was time for Mary to give birth. They searched for a place to stay, but there was no room for them at the inn. So Mary and Joseph went into a stable, and Jesus was born. He was the King of Kings, the Savior and Redeemer prophesied of in the scriptures, and He was born in a barn surrounded by animals and straw.
Mary wrapped baby Jesus in bands of cloth and laid Him in a manger, which was a feeding trough for the animals. Jesus snuggled into the make-shift bed and fell asleep as his mother smiled down at Him.
In a nearby field, there were shepherds watching over their flocks of sheep. The night was calm and quiet, until suddenly an angel appeared. The sight of the angel was so unexpected and so bright that the shepherds were afraid. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 1You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.”
The angel was then joined by a whole group of angels, who praised God and said, “Glory to God in the highest. Peace on earth, good will toward men.”
The shepherds were no longer afraid. Now they were excited and filled with hope. They realized that God had given them a gift: the chance to see the newborn Savior.
“Let’s go to Bethlehem, now, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us,” they said, and they quickly went to the stable, where they found Mary and Joseph, along with baby Jesus lying in the feeding trough.
When they saw little Jesus, pure and humble, lying in hay, the shepherds praised God for all the things that they had heard and seen. They told everyone they knew about the wondrous birth, and soon the story was heard by many.