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Baby Jesus
Children can learn more about Baby Jesus on this page. (Adults may want to visit our Birth of Jesus page instead.)God's promises are in the Bible. For many many years before Jesus was born, God promised to send a Savior to save us from our sins. Then Jesus finally was born. He is the One who God sent to save us. Baby Jesus was born in a very special way, not like any other person who ever lived. His mother was a young woman named Mary. That part is normal. But His Father was God. That's very different and special. No one else had God as His Father. Here's how it happened.
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An angel tells Mary about Baby Jesus
Mary lived a long time ago in a town called Nazareth, in the land of
Israel.
She was engaged to
marry a man named Joseph. One day God sent an angel to her. She was very afraid. But the angel said
"Don't be afraid. God loves you very much. You are going to have a special
baby son. And you must name him 'Jesus'. He will also be called 'the Son of
the Most High God', because God will be His Father. He will be very great, like a king forever and ever."
Mary believed what the angel said and trusted in God to help her with Baby
Jesus. (Luke 1:26-38) |
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Joseph and Mary get married When Mary told Joseph about the special baby God had put in her tummy, at first Joseph did not believe that God could be the Father of the baby. He thought Mary was lying to him. So he was afraid to marry her. But then an angel came to Joseph in a dream and said, "Do not be afraid to marry Mary. In her tummy there is a very special baby boy who was put there by God Himself. You must name him 'Jesus'. He will save His people from their sins." Joseph believed what the angel said and trusted in God. So Joseph married Mary. (Matthew 1:18-25) |
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Before Baby Jesus came out of Mary's tummy, Joseph had to take a long trip from
Nazareth to the town of Bethlehem. Mary went with him. Many other people had come to Bethlehem at that
same time. While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem
the time came for the baby to be born. After Baby Jesus was born Mary wrapped
him up in cloth very nice and warm. There were so many people in Bethlehem that
there was no place for them, not even a bed for Baby Jesus to sleep in! So they
laid
him in a manger.
(Luke 2:1-7) (Note: A manger is a
feeding trough used to put food in for animals to eat.)
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In some fields near Bethlehem there were shepherds keeping watch over their
sheep at night. An angel came to them and a bright light from God shone all
around them. They were very afraid. But the angel said, "Don't be afraid. I
have good news that will make all the people very happy. Today in Bethlehem the
Lord and Savior is born. And here is how you will know Him when you see Him. He will be
wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger."
Then suddenly there were lots and lots of angels with the other angel. And they
called out "Hooray for God! God is great! He is very wonderful! May there
be peace for all people who believe in Him." After the angels left, the
shepherds said, "Let's go to Bethlehem right now and see the baby." So
they hurried into Bethlehem and found Baby Jesus in the manger. They told
everyone what had happened and what the angels had said to them. (Luke 2:8-20) |
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In another faraway land there were some great leaders called "wisemen".
(People sometimes call them "Magi" or "the kings of the
East".) They came to Jerusalem, a big city in Israel. And they said,
"In our land we saw a great light in the sky. We know this star
shows that the great king of your people has been born. Where is He? We came to
worship Him." A man named "Herod" was king then. When Herod heard
about the wisemen he was worried and upset. All the people in the city of Jerusalem
were too.
So they got men who knew the Bible really well to come and tell what the Bible
said about where the Savior King was supposed to be born. The Bible men said
"in Bethlehem." Then King Herod said to the wisemen, "Go to
Bethlehem and find the child. When you find Him then tell me, because I want to
worship Him too." Then the wisemen left Herod. They were very happy to see the
star in the sky again. And that special light led them right to the place where Jesus was! They saw Baby Jesus
with His mother, Mary. And they fell down to the ground and worshiped Him. They
gave him gifts of shiny gold and good-smelling incense
and myrrh. (Matthew 2:1-11) |
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In a dream God told the wisemen, "Don't go back to King Herod. Don't tell him
where Jesus is." So the wisemen went back to their own land another way. And
they did not tell King Herod where Jesus was. After the wisemen left, an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him that King
Herod was really very bad and was going to try to kill Baby Jesus. He told
Joseph to wake up and take Jesus to the land of Egypt and stay there until God
said to come back. So Joseph obeyed God and got up and left for Egypt while it
was still night. When Herod's soldiers came to try to kill Baby Jesus they could
not find him, because He was
already gone to hide in Egypt. Baby Jesus was very safe from bad King Herod
there. (Matthew 2:12-18) After King Herod died God told Joseph that he could bring Jesus back to Israel.
After that Jesus lived in Nazareth until He grew up, becoming strong and
wise. He was the Savior of the world, just like the angel said. (Matthew
2:19-23; Luke 2:40,52; John 3:16; I John 4:14) |
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